When the Darkness Comes
by IHaveNoSoul13
Summary: "I don't remember standing up, but, then again, I don't remember falling down. I don't remember waking up but, then again, I don't remember falling asleep." Maybe it's better to forget. Rated T for content, originally a one-shot, contains profanity, may contain shipping in future chapters, warning for triggering content.
1. Start Anew

Sit down on the chair - the floor might be hollow or dirty or infested - and follow my instructions.

Put on the clothes I set out - black trousers that will hang loosely from your body, a black shirt for you to tuck in, black trainers, black socks and a black balaclava - and don't question the choice of clothing. You'll need it.

Put on the gloves, leather and black.

There are bags in the kitchen, take them and take all the food, drinks and anything else you can find after you close the curtains. Turn off the lights too, make it seem like no one is ever coming home - this house is abandoned and we want it to seem like such.

There's a car outside. There's a gun, sword and shield in there. I guarantee someone will see you, so you better think fast and kill them. Don't bother hiding them, don't touch them, take the weapon. Kill them with the sword.

You'll find me at this address, kid.

 _I told you not to call me that._

I know what you'll say, and have you looked in the mirror?

You look ten. Lucky you, unable to remember a thing other than your Element.

 _It's an Element?_

Questions later. Answers even later. Right now, you need to get driving. You're young, but at this time in the morning, or night, no one will be driving.

That's why you have the balaclava - best you wear the sunglasses in the car, since your eyes are differently coloured and more easy to recognise.

 _Smartass._

I suffer from a large ego. Hurry up.

 **fucKer you'll never know my nAme. don't ask bItch.**

 _You're not very subtle, are you?_

 _Gone so soon?_

 _I liked him._

Shut the fuck up.

* * *

He entered the building, gun hidden and sword and shield wielded. No one, not even drunks, pranced around so he could slip in quietly.

No one.

Good?

Bad?

He crept down to the next floor, replacing the sword and shield with his gun, and opened the door.

"Boo." His employer whispered from the darkness, making him jump and fly back, gun jumping out of his grasp and onto his chest.

He only sent him a glare before getting up and sitting on the stairs.

"Get the food."

He nodded and took the bag inside, his employer turning on the lights. He squeaked at the sudden light, blinking and almost dropping the bag.

He also got a look at his employer.

Syrup brown hair spiking up, red amber eyes burning brightly and fair skin. However, his left eye was of a robot's and his left cheek, ear and some of that side of his neck were metal.

His mind screamed he should know this guy, but all that came to mind was the letter he'd left, the shadow who'd spoken to him and this image.

Heck, he didn't even know his own name.

"Set the food on the table." A table? Where'd that come from? He did so despite the burning questions and admired the food.

His employer immediately grabbed a piece of bread, the tub of butter and sliced some cheese, putting each one atop each other and eating it. "Hungry?"

Despite the aching hunger, he shook his head. He didn't need to eat...

"Kid, you'd better eat."

"I'm not a kid."

"So you remembered how to speak."

"Funny. Very funny."

"So, kid, what do you remember?"

"My Element... my appearance... Nothing else."

His employer hummed in thought. "Well, I know you."

"I know, sir, but-"

"No, I know you." He poked his chest. "I know your life."

"You do?!"

"I'll start with a proper introduction. I am Kai Smith. I am fifteen, older than you, and I am a former Ninja."

"Former?"

A bitter expression destroyed the facial features of his emplo- Kai - and he decided not to press further.

"Little less than a month ago, the city fell to ruins. See the metal on my face? Got more on my body. People had to be upgraded to survive and, at first, it was working. But then... someone took over. People who'd had a lot of themselves upgraded were taken control of and now it's people like us who have to stop them. That man you stabbed back then? He was going to be one of them."

"And you know that how?"

"I just do, okay?!" Kai snapped at him. He jumped in fear and his emplo- KAI! - sighed. "All right. I'll give you some basic information about yourself. Your name is Neuro. You're fourteen, the second youngest of the Elemental Masters. I grew up with you as a best friend and you had dreams to become a scientist until your mother was shot dead by one of them. You never knew your father. You are presumably an only child since I never met a sibling."

Neuro. Fourteen. Cool.

"Now - eat. You're allergic to peanuts." Kai handed him a cheese and tomato sandwich. "And you hate cucumber but love gherkins which are basically pickled cucumber."

He raised a brow at him and bit into the sandwich, flavours flooding into his mouth and down his throat.

One day, he'd been awake, then everything was black for three seconds and he woke without any memories other than his Element and being awake and the darkness.

He looked up at Kai and warmly smiled. Kai didn't smile back though, and he turned away and began sorting through his weapons, scratching his neck constantly. His right side of the neck though.

"Sun's about to rise Kai," He spoke to break the silence which had dragged on for less than two hours. "What do we do?"

Kai looked up, twitching a little. "What we do, little man. We hunt."

* * *

 _"Go!" Their leader had yelled, and he remembered the thrill of the chase and the pain in his legs. He collapsed with a cry, and reached out to another one of his team, who pulled him off the ground and helped him move.  
_

 _"Stop!" They all halted immediately, wondering what the problem was.  
_

 _"What's up?" He'd asked, not him but the one helping him, and, aside from a mumble, there was no response. "What's going on?"  
_

 _"I think they've trapped us."  
_

 _And the bloodbath began._

* * *

Kai awoke, eyes shooting open and body in a cold sweat. He didn't sit up, instead gazing at the ceiling, shaking and gasping.

"Kai!" There was that voice, sweet and innocent - well, more innocent than he or anyone else in this harsh reality could ever be. He grunted in response and got himself dressed, grumbling about the... early wake-up.

It was fucking five in the fucking morning.

What was Neuro playing at? He went into the other room - the building was theirs, you entered at the top floor and everything like the kitchen or dining room or bathroom was underneath the ground, the top floor being an 'abandoned' shop.

There were quotations around 'abandoned' because Kai had learnt the hard way that abandoned buildings weren't quite empty.

It was like an upside down flat, you could say.

He entered the room Neuro had called from, the kitchen, and he saw him putting together a sandwich with one in his mouth like a puppy held his toy. He'd clearly made a cheese sandwich, and while that wasn't his favourite (but how was Neuro supposed to know that?), he appreciated the gesture.

"For you!" Neuro handed him the sandwich, not bothering to remove the one from his mouth, eyes smiling for him.

Kai took it and nodded a thanks, eating it slowly as he watched his young employee take the sandwich out of his mouth and eat. The bread was crumbly and as a result bread crumbs fell into their laps, but, let's be honest, it wasn't as if either of them were about to care.

"So, kid, ready for your first hunt?"

"I don't see why you didn't let me go on yesterday's."

"Too many for a newbie, and you were as hungry as fuck. You needed to eat and the enemy could use your hunger against you." Kai explained with a roll of his eyes. "But you've eaten a lot now, and since it's near morning, you can go on a hunt with me."

"Kai?"

"Hm?"

"Did I fight any battles before I... you know."

"I can't recall. You're not the only one with a bit of lost memory."

"I'm not?"

"No. You're one of the survivors who have amnesia, and the only Elemental Master. It may be natural, like trauma or you hitting your head or the like, but a couple of amnesiacs had them," He meant the enemy and Neuro knew it. "Store their memories in a chip and set them free. It's meant to be bait - family and friends would come to find them and then-" Kai froze.

He could still hear the screaming.

"And then what?" Neuro asked.

"The family and friends and amnesiac are either slaughtered or they become one of them."

"..."

"We started realising what they were doing so we stopped rescuing them. They sent ransom notes, threatened their lives but we had stopped caring." His voice was cracking now. "We didn't expect them to perform their death threats. We tried to attack them, but... We'd gone in with a plan and came out with half of us left and the other half mindless drones chasing us. So we stopped planning."

Neuro looked at his palms. "Was I one of those amnesiacs? One of the traps?"

"Doubt it."

He frowned. "Why?"

Kai smiled and ruffled his hair a little. "You're alive and have your mind."

* * *

"Go!" Kai ran out into battle, guns blazing and swords unsheathed. He shot one drone and stabbed another and deflected a hit.

Neuro was at his back, refusing to leave him to fight these drones, and protecting his back.

"I said GO!"

"You can't protect yourself and you know it! Where do you want me to go?! If I go back to where we're staying, they'll follow me!"

Kai gave a hum before lifting him up (pretty easy actually) after putting his weapons away. He held him on a shoulder and ran for his life, Neuro yelling profanities and furious screams. "Shut up, midge."

"I'm not a midge!"

"One of these days I swear I'm going to hand you over to the drones."

"Funny." Neuro muttered. "THEY'RE STILL AFTER US!"

"Then shoot them! Jeez, kid, use your head."

"THESE ONES ARE FULL METAL!"

"What?"

"THEY HAVE NO FLESH!"

"So they're making robots too."

"What do I do?"

"Use your Element!"

"Okay. Uhhh..."

"Don't tell me you've forgotten how to use it."

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry." He dropped Neuro on the floor carelessly. "Slice anything that comes behind me. I'll deal with the Metal Men."

"How?!"

"You'll see." And then his hands caught on fire. Neuro's eyes widened, the dark grey eyes with icy blue flecks reflecting the flames.

"You're an Elemental Master too?"

"Bingo. Slice them!"

He leapt at the robots, as if he had years of training, the flames melting the robots at anytime they met with it. He kicked and punched and leapt and Neuro was transfixed on the sight.

Of course he could do this - Kai had been a Ninja.

"NEURO!"

The yell brought him crashing down to reality and he attacked anything that tried to harm Kai or himself.

There was soon nothing but pools of metal, robots' insides and cyborg corpses, excluding the two who'd done this.

Neuro looked at Kai, who was groaning in pain. "It's been too long since I've done that."

"You gonna be okay?"

"Let's go back."

* * *

"How's he doing?"

"He's fine, sir."

"What about the other one?"

"He's fine too, sir."

A pair of thin lips parted to release a sigh. Slender fingers tightened on a sword handle.

"Is everyone fine in the world?"

"..."

"Well?!"

"No sir. The drones are dying and even the robots have weaknesses we missed."

Those thin lips barely parted to release a growl. "Well. We'll have to fix that." The owner of the thin lips and slender fingers stood, taking gloves into his hand and putting them on slowly and menacingly.

"Sir? What are you doing?"

He paced toward the informant slowly.

"Sir?"

His lips came an inch away from the informant's. "What's been coming a long time." He pulled the informant into a deep and sensual kiss.

And killed him.

* * *

"Neuro!" Kai rolled his eyes as his new student stuffed his mouth with the spaghetti the surprisingly good cook (Kai) had made, speaking as he ate (something about how it 'tasted familiar' - perhaps something from his past?). "Don't eat so fast - it'll last longer and you'll feel like you ate more."

"But it's SO GOOD." Neuro, muffled of course since his face was still half stuffed with spaghetti and meatballs, protested, tomato sauce and short strings of spaghetti flying out.

Unamused, Kai tentatively wiped his right cheek with his middle finger, both to wipe off the tomato sauce that had landed on it and to give the telepath a clear message.

They heard a voice yelling from outside, "OPEN UP KAI!" They both froze, Neuro chewing the food in his mouth and swallowing it quickly, Kai rolling his eyes at the actions and waiting. "I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!"

"That voice... why's it so familar?" Kai mumbled as he grabbed his gun and Neuro grabbed his sword and gun. "Let's go."

They crept up the stairs and BANG! Kai shot at the door, which was like a window in a door frame with a handle, leaving a considerably large crack in it, the person outside jumping back. Kai ran up the door and swung it open, both he and Neuro aiming their guns at the caller.

Kai's eyes widened, he lowered the gun and whispered a single name.

"Lloyd?"

Neuro frowned slightly, staring at the caller. Male, light blonde hair, emerald green eyes and fair, paler than Kai's and wearing green casual clothing, consisting of a T-shirt, jeans, trainers and a jacket. His chest showed off a little metal, so it probably meant he'd had some of what Kai had had done.

Neuro didn't lower the gun, but instead put his finger on the trigger, not so much of a tremble running through his body, his eyes narrowed and disbelieving.

"Neuro? Neuro, what are you doing? Put the gun down." Kai frowned but the telepath refused to listen, grip tightening on the handle.

"NEURO! LOWER THE DAMN GUN!"

"I tried to read your mind, Lloyd." Neuro stated, voice shaking just that little bit.

"What for? My maker didn't store their plans in me. Not even their gender."

Neuro chuckled. "Robots don't have minds." He dropped the gun, picking up the sword he'd brought with him and attempted to attack the imposter.

Kai lit his hands on fire, knowing guns were useless against the metal that... that someone who had caused the chaos had built the robot with.

"How dare he!" Kai screamed, burning the clothes the robot wore, eyes blazing with a rage indescribable, and continued to attack the robot with his pyrokinesis, it soon a goner and the fifteen year old was left panting and exhausted.

Neuro frowned.

"What's wrong, kiddo?"

Neuro didn't even notice the hated nickname being said. "Kai."

"What?"

"How do you know that robot's creator's gender?"

* * *

 _He awoke, chained to a table, looking at the person who'd started the whole apocalypse and built the robots and had done the surgery on those with metal parts. He struggled, his captor laughing at his struggles and placing their hands on his arms and kneeling on his legs.  
_

 _"I've really missed you, you know."  
_

 _"GET OFF ME! LET ME GO!"  
_

 _"Uh, uh, uh. Not yet." Their voice was gentle and striking, but it was all a trick.  
_

 _He would not fall under the spell.  
_

 _"What do you want with me?"  
_

 _"I can give you the one thing you want."  
_

 _"Which is..."  
_

 _The captor chucked and stroked his cheek.  
_

 _"Her."_

* * *

Kai sipped as his coffee, holding it with both hands, as it hurt his hands only slightly. He ignored the glare Neuro was currently giving him and drank.

"Kai, I want answers."

Kai looked up, eyes showing faked confusion and disguised pain. "Answers to what, kid?"

Neuro growled slightly and stood. "I can easily read your mind, Kai, I'll find out all your secrets and you won't be able to stop me. So cut the crap and tell me how you know that the person who took over and stripped people of their memories and might have caused the trauma or cause that took my memories! You're supposed to be my friend and you're hiding things from me!"

Kai narrowed his eyes, almost throwing down the coffee mug. "One - I know you Neuro and your threats are always empty! Two - I am not your friend, but your acquaintance and employer! Three - there are some things you shouldn't know, Neuro, and my secrets are either harmful to others or private!"

"One - you know the OLD me! You know the one with the memories! I am a new person who might as well start anew! Two - you're the only one I can trust! Three - I don't need protecting! I can look after myself!"

Kai growled. He slapped the telepath. "Fuck's sake, Neuro! You're too young to understand!"

"I'm fourteen!"

"You might as well be ten because not only do you look like one but you seem to have the ideas and mental age of one too! The world isn't fucking sunshine and roses, and it never was! Some of our friends could be dead and I know one of them is a robot! One of us might not make it out alive!"

"I..."

"This isn't a story, Neuro! It probably won't have a happy ending and you can't get to grips with that!"

The kid looked at his hands, which shook, and fought back the tears at the imaginary sight of Kai or himself dying. He then imagined being younger and watching his mother - whatever she looked like - die by the hands of scientists.

Death happened. People bled. People slept. Death occured.

And the thought that Kai might die or he might die was worse than being impaled.

He burst into tears, and longed for Kai to fall from his bout of anger and hold him and apologise and hug him.

Nothing. He looked up to see Kai clenching his fists and glaring down.

"This is exactly what I mean."

"So you want me to not care about you or myself or anyone else we may meet?! You want me to be like you - selfish and simple-minded and not care about others dying?!"

"I do care! I am not selfish or simple-minded!" Kai retorted. "Neuro, I live with the fact that death is inevitable and that it may be lurking around the corner! That's why I'm not going to tell you, Neuro. If he finds out either of us know, our chances of survival will lessen and the amounts of deaths will shoot up through the roof, through the atomsphere, shoot past the stars and hit the First Spinjitzu Master in the penis."

Neuro frowned in confusion at the weird wording but understood the basics. He nodded slightly.

Then came the hug that Neuro had yearned for.

"Neuro, I do care. I lost all my friends and family, either to death, possibly to evil or they ran. I'm not going to lose you as well. You're my last hope."

Neuro nodded and softly smiled. "Kai?"

"Hm?"

"You're my last hope too."

"That's cheesy as fuck." Kai smirked and pulled away, ruffling Neuro's hair. He looked at his watch. "2am. Best we go to bed."

"Carry me."

"What?" Kai carried an amused smirk. "What do you mean?"

"I'm lazy. Carry me."

Kai frowned. "I'm lazier."

"Kai carry m-"

"No!"

The yell was sudden and adrupt and even Kai flinched at it. Neuro began to stand up, understanding that this was not the time for joking, before Kai sighed and picked him up.

"Come on, lazy boy. Bedtime."

Neuro smiled and nuzzled his chest into Kai's warm chest.

Kai chuckled and jokingly said, "You lazy fucking sod."

* * *

 _"7pm. Best you go to bed."_

 _"Carry me."  
_

 _"What?" Kai carried an amused smirk as his little sister reached up to him. "What do you mean?"  
_

 _"I'm lazy. Carry me." Nya protested, holding her arms to him with a little grin.  
_

 _Kai frowned jokingly and teased. "I'm lazier."  
_

 _"Kai carry me!"  
_

 _"No."  
_

 _"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiii."  
_

 _"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiineeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee."_

* * *

 _The leader was breathing heavily, Kai held tears in his eyes.  
_

 _"7pm. Heh. Time I went to sleep."  
_

 _"No..."  
_

 _"Kai carry me."  
_

 _"What?" Kai carried an confused and tearful frown as his leader reached up to him. "What do you mean? This isn't the time."  
_

 _"I'm lazy. Carry me." The leader protested, holding their arms to him with a weak, little smile. "Carry me to the memorial..."  
_

 _Kai cried quietly as the leader bled out, a gaping hole in their chest. "  
_

 _"Kai... carry me."  
_

 _"But... What if you die before we make it?"  
_

 _"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiii."  
_

 _Sobbing audibly now, Kai picked the leader up and nodded. "Fine."  
_

 _He ran to the memorial, desperately wanting to grant his leader's dying wish, whispering to them to stay awake.  
_

 _He laid the dying soul at the statue. The leader chuckled, smiled up at the statue and then going still.  
_

 _Eyes white as snow._

* * *

Kai sat in thought as he watched Neuro sleep, not really watching as it blurred into the background as he... thought.

He could not sleep - after the memories that plagued him in the rest, he'd given up - and he noticed Neuro looked somewhat... sweet when he slept.

He was hugging his chest, knees to his chest and a smile graced his features. Despite the situation Kai'd dragged him into two months ago, the boy had still the capability to smile and laugh and be happy with ease.

Kai didn't have the capability to do that easily anymore.

He smiled absent-mindedly as dawn cracked over the skies. He usually would shake Neuro awake but today he'd be nice and let him sleep for a few hours longer.

Neuro's eyes fluttered open and he wearily looked up at Kai. "Kai? Were you watching me sleep?"

"Uh..."

Neuro tiredly chuckled and sat up. "I don't really care, Kai. Can you go make breakfast? I'm hungry."

"Sure, kiddo." He ruffled Neuro's hair, the telepath giving a tired murmur before flopping back to sleep. "Never mind."

He chuckled as Neuro lay like a crooked starfish in his sleep, wondering how such a messy position could turn into a neat and tidy one.

He ran a hand through Neuro's hair gently, careful not to wake him.

Maybe Neuro wasn't family, maybe he wasn't like his brothers or sister.

But Kai supposed he'd do.

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah. Some feels, angst and several other stuff.  
**

 **The bit with the amounts of deaths thing shooting up is from a conversation my best friend and I had as a joke. "It'll shoot through the roof, through space, through the stars and hit God in the dick." I mean no offence when I say that, it's just an inside joke.  
**

 **This was going to be a one-shot but I decided I wanted a bigger plot with little side-plots.  
**

 **The reason I'm refraining from saying 'he' or 'she' when I'm referring to the leader is because I want to keep the identity a secret. If I used pronouns, it would become too obvious.  
**

 **I know I haven't updated to the Ninjago fanfiction but I have reasons! I got into other fandoms (Gravity Falls and RWBY to name a few), I fangirled over them, I wrote fanfiction for them, I got my best friend into them and didn't have inspiration for a Ninjago fic until now!  
**

 **So yeah.  
**

 **I hope you enjoyed!  
**

 **See ya next chapter!  
**


	2. Past Thoughts

**A/N: So yeah. This chapter.**

 **I got four or something reviews from the same person, Kairocksrainbows, and while the first one was a review about the fanfiction, the other two were not. I would just like to note that if you could refrain from either flaming, giving me a short one-shot or anything else that has nothing to do with the story or ideas for it, then I would be extremely grateful. This isn't saying I didn't like the story, but I would prefer, if possible, you send it by PM.**

 **Anyway, thank you for the reviews, NerdyJD and Kairocksrainbows, I am very pleased to hear you liked it, and hope this chapter is just as satisfactory as the previous.**

 **Oh, and by the way, when I said 'little less than a month ago' in the bit where Kai explains to Neuro about what happened in the apocalypse, I meant 'a little less than a year ago'. I don't know how I mis-typed it.**

 **I'm listening to songs that are mostly depressing so yeah.**

 **Listen to RWBY's Red Like Roses Part 1 and 2 and you'll get an idea of what Kai feels like after the leader died. Listen to RWBY's Mirror, Mirror and you get an idea of how Kai feels on a daily basis.**

 **This is more of a Kai chapter, or the first part is anyways.**

* * *

 _"Didn't you have any other friends aside Nya before you joined the Ninja team?" He looked up from his meal at the Sensei before shrugging._

 _"Probably."  
_

 _"Where are they now?" Kai turned to Cole, the speaker.  
_

 _"Dunno. Probably became scarce when our father died when I was eleven."  
_

 _Cole frowned. "Why's that?"  
_

 _There was a deadly silence, Kai's gaze returning to his food and digging his knife into his meal just that little more harshly after the question. He felt their eyes on him so he elbowed Nya and gave a small nod, not looking up, but the smallest of sparkling in his eyes as he threatened to cry.  
_

 _"After our dad died since our mother died giving birth to me, Kai became somewhat... abusive."  
_

 _"You make me sound like a monster."  
_

 _"He was severely depressed and he got into a gang and convinced them to give him some cigarettes. He drank for a longer period of time and he would attack anyone who tried to calm him down, even me. One day, the gang thought it would be a laugh for him to take some drugs, but they gave him too much and he almost died. He quit the gang, took him months to get off the alcohol and cigarettes and dedicated his life to becoming a humble blacksmith."  
_

 _"You make it sound so dramatic. I went through a hard time, that's all."  
_

 _"You smoked, Kai. That's extreme."  
_

 _"Why did you even asked about if I had some friends before life as a Ninja?"  
_

 _"Just wondering."_

* * *

 _"You all were so happy, Kai. Then you ruined it."  
_

 _"That's not true!"  
_

 _"YOU LET THEM DIE, KAI! YOU WERE THE LAST ONE TO TALK TO YOUR LEADER, YOU MADE NO ATTEMPT TO PREVENT THE DEATH!"  
_

 _"THERE WAS NOTHING I COULD DO!"  
_

 _"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA YOU EXPECT THEM TO BELIEVE THAT?!"  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _"DO YOU?!"  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _"DO YOU?!"  
_

 _"No."_

* * *

 _Kai huffed as he walked through the city of Ninjago, hands in his pockets. He then thudded into a smaller being, and looked down.  
_

 _"Neuro! I haven't seen you since I was eleven *****! How've you been? You haven't changed a bit!"  
_

 _The young teen opened his mouth to speak before a taller being rushed forward, followed by two other teens. "Neuro! Don't run off like that!" The darked hair teen, presumably sixteen, exclaimed, grabbing his wrist.  
_

 _"Hey!" Kai yelled, stepping forward.  
_

 _"Who're you?" The same teen stepped forward, huffing.  
_

 _"Who are you to grab his wrist like that?"  
_

 _"Guys... people are staring..." Neuro muttered, staring at the ground blushing as people stared.  
_

 _"I won't repeat it again - who are you?"  
_

 _"The name's Kai Smith - one of the Ninja!"  
_

 _"What, the ones apparently meant to be protecting the city?"  
_

 _"Apparently?!"  
_

 _"Shadow! Leave Kai alone!" The tallest of them all demanded, pulling the stone coloured teen away. "Sorry."  
_

 _"It's cool. So, who're you?"  
_

 _"Oh, these are my roommates - or brothers as we seem to be - and this is Kai."  
_

 _"Hmph. The name's Shadow."  
_

 _"Name Karloff." The tallest teen smiled.  
_

 _"And the one on his phone is Griffin."  
_

 _"It's a pleasure to meet you." Kai smiled fakly, not truly in the mood for greetings.  
_

 _"Kai was my friend since I was about two. I haven't seen him much since I was ten though..."  
_

 _"Why?"  
_

 _"Enough about me. Tell about you."_

* * *

 _"I bet everyone in the team hates you. I wouldn't be surprised if everyone you used to love hates you!"  
_

 _"No... NO!"  
_

 _"Yes, Kai! You made so many mistakes and people will come to hate you! Even he will hate you once he finds out your secrets, and you will once again be alone! No one loves you anymore Kai. You wanted independence, and now it's being served on a silver platter for you with the wine of betrayal! But now you've got a taste of dependence, trust and friendship and you don't want to be forced to eat the meal that's so inferior to the one you've just sampled!"  
_

 _The one who began this crept up to him, holding a spoon holding blood, crazed smile.  
_

 _"So I suppose I'll have to force feed you."_

* * *

Kai awoke from the daydream, looking around the basement. He stifled a sigh and tried to recall what he was doing when...

"Ha!" Neuro leapt upon him, wrapping his legs around his stomach and hugged his neck tightly. "Ah it's coooooold!"

Kai almost jumped in fear but rebalanced himself and laughed. "Funny, haha. Off, so I can make lunch."

"I'll do it." Neuro insisted as he jumped off Kai's back.

"You just don't want to keep watch again, do you?"

Neuro rolled his eyes. "I just want to let you relax."

Kai frowned and turned around. "Neuro, in the two months you've known me, you haven't learnt that I don't relax?"

"I just thought maybe you should try for a little while. Maybe write or draw or even sleep. You need the sleep."

 _"You need to sleep more Kai."_

"No I don't."

"Fine. Have it your way." Neuro lifted a hand to wave off the protests and took out his gun and sword. "But I won't be the one looking in a mirror, asking who's the loneliest of all."

Kai watched him depart upstairs and frowned. He made the lunch, falling back into the unwanted memories.

* * *

 _"You're not as bad at cooking as I expected!" Jay chuckled, biting into the bacon, which, to his request, had the fat stripped off (Cole'd taken it of course). "Not as good as Zane though, but that's impossible."  
_

 _"Yeah!" Lloyd agreed, the child nomming happily on the meal. "This is great!"  
_

 _"After Dad died, Kai took up cookery classes. He was so good when they had to bake cakes!"  
_

 _"N-Nya!"  
_

 _"I'm only telling them the truth!"  
_

 _Kai grumbled, a faint blush on his face. He soon cracked a smile and laughed along with the others. Zane ruffled his hair and he playfully swatted his hand away.  
_

 _He was certain it would be this way forever.  
_

* * *

 _"How wrong you were."  
_

 _"No..."  
_

 _"You watched your leader die. You did nothing. You are as evil as the one who started this. You caused the one who began this to begin it. Their deaths are your fault. Their lost memories are your fault. Your loneliness is a consequence of your actions. And of course, you refuse to take the blame because that's your personality! You see your strengths, when they are outnumbered by your flaws!"  
_

 _"No..."  
_

 _"Yes, Kai!"  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _"Kai... You can escape this."  
_

 _"No I can't."  
_

 _"I know you can't."_

* * *

Neuro drew his knees to his chest, absent-mindedly stroking the trigger, holding it loosely so it pointed down to his leg.

He was lost in thought.

He was trying to remember.

His head was in agony, it burned, and he almost screamed in pain as it worsened.

He gave up, the pain too much and thudded back against the wall, panting and groaning. He looked at his gun and back at the window.

He wanted to know more about himself, about his past life, about the people he might have met, the people he'd meet later on, about his mother, the problems his Element caused.

He wanted to know what happened to Kai. What had happened to make him so distant, so angry, so depressed?

What had happened?

His thoughts trailed off his memories to Kai, considering whether he should attempt to read that protected mind - he could sense the barrier Kai'd built around his mind and heart, but Neuro's Element was similar to a wrecking ball and he could break that barrier with ease. Many would ask why he hadn't already, it was clear Kai was holding back a lot from him, so why wouldn't he just read his mind to find out?

Neuro didn't want to.

What if he didn't like what he saw? What if it hurt him? What if it made him insane? What if-

What if it made him hate Kai?

That's why he refrained from reading Kai's mind - he was scared of what he saw.

Kai was right - he was as young as he looked.

A scream echoed from outside, catching him by surprise. His finger accidentally pulled back on the trigger and he shot himself in the leg (he had been on watch, remember, so he'd had it loaded) and he screamed in pain.

"NEURO?!" Kai ran up, eyes reflecting the blood Neuro was currently shedding in his leg. "Oh Spinjitzu Master what happened?!"

"I wasn't focused... I heard a scream... I shot myself." Neuro stammered, the pain blinding him with tears.

Kai hugged him to his chest, reassuring him. "I'll go get the bandages, okay?"

"Don't leave me!"

"Don't worry, I'll be gone for a few seconds, no more." Kai soothed, running down the stairs to get the bandages and first aid kit. True to his word, he was back within ten seconds and used the necessary items on the wound before bandaging it. "We'll see if we can find the hidden infirmary."

"Huh?"

Kai sighed slightly. "Neuro, we aren't the only survivors. Somewhere, the Ninja - or my old brothers, as I used to be one of them - are out there. In the year that's passed without seeing them, I don't know where they are, but there are citizens that survived, including some Elemental Masters. I think one was converted into a drone, but I think they got through to him."

"That's a bit cheesy." Neuro frowned.

Kai shrugged and simply replied that there had to be some elements of happiness and hope in the world, even in the state it was currently in.

He picked Neuro up in his arms and grabbed some ammo and his gun and sword. "C'mon, let's go." With that, he kicked the door open and ran down the streets, wind whipping their faces and rain pelting down. Now and then, they'd see either cyborgs or drones or surviving citizens.

They ran into a bomb shelter from the Elemental War which had been fashioned into an infirmary. Some of the doctors had not a single piece of metal on them while a couple of them had so much it was a wonder why they weren't the enemy. A male doctor rushed over, way too much worry in his eyes to be normal (then again, Neuro held no recollection of previous pharmacy or hospital visits so how could he know - and maybe the worry was because due to them being one of the few survivors and if he died then they'd lose a potentially great fighter) and he asked Kai some questions which passed right by Neuro's ears as he fell into a great slumber.

Kai watched in agony as Neuro was stripped out of his arms and taken away. He placed a hand on the doctor's shoulder and yanked gently.

The doctor turned to meet his eyes, dark grey settling onto red amber.

"Shadow, please, don't let him die. He's all I have left."

Shadow only responded with a nod, the look in his eyes promising to save the one he'd once called younger brother.

* * *

 _The eyes bore into him, icy blue settling into dark grey ones with icy blue hints.  
_

 _Neuro might have met his father.  
_

 _Clouse smiled wryly as Neuro backed away, Karloff at his side. "Won't you make the metal man leave?" The ghost asked, a smug smile settling on his ghostly green features.  
_

 _"Karloff no let Neuro face ghost alone!"  
_

 _"Karloff, just go."  
_

 _"Wha-"  
_

 _"Just go!"  
_

 _With great reluctance, the Metal Master left the two to their own devices.  
_

 _"So tell me, what's stopping me from splashing you with water?"  
_

 _"You care for me really? And why would you kill your father?"  
_

 _"You're no father to me!"  
_

 _"I'm the only father you'll ever get!"  
_

 _Neuro turned away from Clouse. "Ugh! I wish I never knew you!"  
_

 _"Be careful what you wish for, Neuro." And in that moment, his voice sounded so weary, so old, so tired, so dead.  
_

 _But wasn't he dead if he was a ghost?  
_

 _When was someone truly dead? Was it when they didn't need to breathe, when their heart stopped beating, when their blood stopped running?  
_

 _Or was it when they stopped living?_

* * *

 _"That's what happened to you, isn't it?"  
_

 _At first, he'd refused to believe it. A month he'd lived in denial, refusing to believe their leader had died, whereas they were suffering with the pain and that's when it had happened.  
_

 _The one who had begun the state of the world hit and hurt and strangled and tried to kill him. Then, they ran after they'd been pulled off.  
_

 _It was that moment he'd realised the leader was gone and dead and nothing but a corpse.  
_

 _And that he'd done nothing.  
_

 _Dying wasn't always when you no longer needed to breathe, when your heart stopped beating, when your blood no longer ran.  
_

 _For Kai, it was when he stopped living.  
_

 _When he stopped burning._

* * *

In the time it took for the doctors to treat Neuro, Kai found a comfort in talking to Shadow, his own voice a quiet murmur, but refrained from telling how he'd been over the year or what had happened to the leader.

"Kai Smith? Neuro's ready to go." They didn't care keep patients for more than a day if it wasn't necessary because, according to Shadow, the Patient Massacre had occurred in the very building little less than six months ago and they were very careful. The Master of Shadow was very sure that, if the world ever pulled itself out of this state, the massacre would make it into the history books. "Kai?"

Kai had been in deep thought about the massacre when he felt someone shake his shoulder gently. "Uh?"

"It was a success - Neuro's leg is pretty much healed."

"You didn't use metal, did you?" Kai frowned, ready to slap them if they made any gesture or said any word that meant yes.

"No, of course not, using metal to heal wounds that are not fatal like yours was is a banned practice and hasn't been used since the early days of the start of this apocalypse. I thought you would have learnt from the newspaper. You were a vivid newspaper reader, Kai, and Jay would joi-"

At the sound of the name, Kai stood and fiercely grumbled, "I'll go get Neuro."

The speaker, a nurse, looked astounded and looked at Shadow to defend her case. Instead of an argument, she received a sigh and a shake of the now doctor's head. "What's his problem?"

"Jay... uh..." Shadow trailed off as Kai came with Neuro in tow.

"Well, we'll be off." Kai's otherwise happy and oddly sweet voice held notable hints of anger, pain and animosity toward her. "Goodbye Shadow, goodbye Skylor." With that, he marched off, almost dragging Neuro behind him.

"Kai, who were they?"

"Kai. Kai, are you listening?"

"Who were they, are they enemies?"

"Do I know them well, Kai?"

"Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai, Kai."

Kai growled and looked at the vertically challenged telepath. "Shut up, or I'll shoot your skull."

"But-"

"Butts are for sitting." Kai responded with a snap, eyes widening as he realised his choice of phrase.

"Uh?"

"Don't worry."

Neuro gave a small frown as Kai walked on ahead, leaving him to limp. He looked at the makeshift crutch they'd given him and frowned. He looked back at Kai, who'd stopped and turned around slightly so his side faced him but had turned his head to stare. He was also tapping his foot impatiently and gestured for Neuro to hurry up. The younger teen gave a frown and gestured to his leg. The older teen rolled his eyes and turned to walk away. The younger one quickened his pace and grumbled.

Although Neuro didn't see it, the older one smiled and wished he'd never become like him.

* * *

 _"But you never get what you want, Kai. You should know that by now. You wanted everyone to remain happy, you wanted the leader to survive, you wanted to finally have a family who was other than your sister..."_

 _"Stop, please."_

 _"But then you ruined it. Of course, arrogant, selfish, dependent Kai ruined it all by not getting out the way and letting the leader take the blow."_

 _"I..."_

 _"You became too dependent on them Kai. Why didn't you leave as soon as Nya was safe?"_

 _"I..."_

 _"Because you started to depend on them, to trust them, to love them. And you know what happens to everyone you love."_

 _"Don't remind me."_

 _"You loved your parents, and now they're dead. You loved your brothers and sister, and now they're missing or dead. You loved the one who'd been the leader, and_ _you let them die."_

 _"I didn't mean to!"_

 _"You're not just a waste of space,"_

 _The grin on their face was so cruel and it stung him._

 _"You're a curse."_

* * *

 _Kai watched as his sister and Jay kissed passionately out of thin air - there was absolutely no reason for them to even have feelings for each other that were no less than platonic! Yet, here they were, snogging the heck out of each other. It was kinda cute, he had to admit, but for the sake of being funny, he turned away and exclaimed, "Gross!"  
_

 _He couldn't help but smile slightly as they continued despite the cameras upon them and their faces on the TV. He doubted that they even knew, and he was glad his little sister was finally with the one he shipped her with.  
_

 _Yes, Kai was a Jaya shipper, Lloyd was a Ronya shipping and Zane cared not. Wu and Misako did not dare meddle in teen love.  
_

 _It didn't just make him smile, it made him jealous and annoyed as well - so close he'd come, to having that, but Skylor had decided that she had to uphold the family business (whatever family was; when their parents were alive, they weren't as perfect and happy as Nya and everyone else thought) instead of being with him.  
_

 _Between continuing her insane, power-hungry father's business and starting anew with the team, she'd chosen the family business because they weren't her family and perhaps they should have nothing to do with each other.  
_

 _It was then Kai decided he hated Skylor, he never wanted to see her face again and Garmadon forbid if he so much as saw her face.  
_

 _But for now, he would celebrate the couple which had sprung from nothing with the others, and forget Skylor's existence.  
_

 _Love was stupid.  
_

 _But Jaya was not._

* * *

 _"Their love died in the apocalypse, did it not? They were forced apart and you held the knife that severed the bond. You were so jealous of their love that you played Cupid and ripped them apart. I'm surprised they don't hate you."  
_

 _"Oh they do."  
_

 _"Oh they do, don't they? I suppose they'd laugh at your state and there would be no sympathy. You didn't sympathise for her when they broke up and they knew that it was your fault and they hated you so, so, so much. You were so close to leaving the team at that point, but Lloyd, oh he begged, he begged so much, and you gave him and you promised him you'd never let anything happen to him or the team. Now look! You're no longer part of the team! I doubt they even noticed your disappearance!"  
_

 _"SHUT UP!"  
_

 _And this time, it shut up.  
_

 _He was left alone with himself.  
_

 _Himself, his memories and his depression._

* * *

"Sir! A new batch of corpses ready to be made into robots!"

"Great, great! Just prepare them!"

"There are a couple of live ones, should we kill them?"

"Nah, let them know the pain of being perfected. Let them know the pain of their ties to life being severed before their eyes. Let them know the emotional pain I went through."

"Of course sir."

With that, the lieutenant left swiftly, and he was left alone. He licked his lips slowly, chuckling just that little bit as he thought.

He wasn't ashamed of what he'd done, but proud. He was so very proud of the chaos he'd brought down on the city, he didn't care about their lives.

He just wanted them to fear him like he feared himself.

He was batshit insane.

Not only did it excite him, it scared him.

Help him.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

He didn't need help!

* * *

 _Fists of fury!" Lloyd boasted, punching the oven gloves Kai currently wore on his hands, smiling and having fun as Kai smirked. "You can't even see em move I'm so fast!"  
_

 _Pulling his pain-free hands to his side, Kai lectured, "Save the gloating, it can only be used against you by the enemy." In the background, Jay exchanged a glance with Zane, presumably holding back a snigger.  
_

 _"Oh please, I'm ready to face whatever you throw at me!" He kicked Kai as he jumped up, the Fire Master's head hitting the pots and pans. He felt no pain - the training had left him numb to most pain the kid threw at him - and smirked.  
_

 _"Whoa, grasshopper, you're not even ready to face my pinkie toe."  
_

 _Wu sipped his cup of tea calmly. "I see the student has become the teacher. You will learn fast Lloyd, with lessons from the four Ninja."  
_

 _"Great," Cole interrupted, adjusting a pot on his head. "Now that that lesson is over, how about some target practice? On KAI?!" Kai gulped - the Green Ninja was just a kid, and hadn't mastered his powers yet. However, his brothers...  
_

 _"You'll each get your turn, but first I don't want you to be late for your next lesson with Nya."  
_

 _Lloyd groaned. "Aw, but when will I learn Spinjitzu?!"  
_

 _Wu sighed with a small smile. "Ah, patience, it will only be unlocked when the key is ready to be found."  
_

 _Lloyd groaned and walked off, sulking.  
_

 _Cole sniggered. "Sound familar?"  
_

 _"I wasn't that whiny!" Kai insisted, finding himself next to Jay.  
_

 _"No," Zane stated. "You were worse."  
_

 _Jay chuckled as the younger Master frowned, pouting just that little bit._

* * *

 _"At first you were the second youngest before Lloyd joined, then you were the middle 'child' after Lloyd joined, then third oldest when your sister became a Ninja. Now you're the oldest one because you're alone besides Neuro. You say how childish he acts, how he acts how he looks, but you were so dependent on them, it's a wonder how you weren't babied by them."  
_

 _Kai was silent this time.  
_

 _Maybe if he ignored it, the voice would go away.  
_

 _"Aw, Kai, don't ignore me. As long as you live, you'll never see the back end of me."  
_

 _Kai clenched his fists, willing it away.  
_

 _"So you want the pain to stop?"  
_

 _He nodded.  
_

 _"So you want the saddness to go away?"  
_

 _He nodded.  
_

 _"So you want me to shut up?"  
_

 _He nodded.  
_

 _And in a dark whisper, the voice hissed, "Kill yourself."  
_

 _A pause.  
_

 _He refused.  
_

 _"Fine then."_

* * *

 _When violet eyes get brighter,  
_

 _And heavy wings grow lighter,  
_

 _I'll taste the sky and feel alive again.  
_

 _And I'll forget the world that I knew,  
_

 _But I swear I won't forget you,  
_

 _Oh if my voice could reach back through the past,  
_

 _I'd whisper in your ear:  
_

 _"Oh darling, I wish you were here."_

* * *

 _Mirror, tell me something.  
_

 _Tell me who's the loneliest, of all?  
_

 _Mirror, tell me something, tell me who's the loneliest of all?  
_

 _Fear of whats inside of me; tell me can a heart be turned to stone?  
_

 _Mirror mirror, what's behind you? Save me from the things I see.  
_

 _I can keep it from the world, why won't you let me hide from me?  
_

 _Mirror mirror, tell me something- who's the loneliest of all?  
_

 _I'm the loneliest of all._

* * *

 _I know you're broken down by anger and by sadness,  
_

 _You feel I left you in a world that's full of madness,  
_

 _Wish I could talk to you, if only for a minute,  
_

 _Make you understand the reasons why I did it.  
_

 _I wanna tell you that you're all that ever mattered,  
_

 _Want you to know that, for eternity, I'm shattered,  
_

 _I tried so hard just to protect you, but I failed to,  
_

 _And in a prison of abandonment I've jailed you!_

* * *

"You left me in this world."

"I'll never forgive myself."

"I watched you bleed."

"And I did nothing."

"A man of mistakes."

"A child in a man."

"I watched you bleed."

"I could have done anything."

"..."

"But I did nothing."

"And I will never do anything..."

"Right."

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah.  
**

 **This will probably be the last time I use songs. Maybe not.  
**

 **1st song - Vanilla Twilight - Owl City  
**

 **2nd song - Mirror, Mirror - RWBY  
**

 **3rd song - Red Like Roses, Part 2 - RWBY  
**

 **If you guys want to send in memories (via PM or review) for either Neuro or Kai, you may. If you want to guess who the leader might have been or** **who the antagonist is, you may.  
**

 *** - The memories may go from Season 1 to Season 6 and might not even been canon.  
**

 **So yeah.  
**

 **See ya.  
**

 **I suck at outros.  
**


	3. Loneliness

**A/N: So.**

 **Again, thanks for the reviews and I hope you enjoy. And this is probably going to get even more depressing. Plus, some backstory.**

* * *

Neuro sat, leg outstretched, eating a sandwich Kai'd made him. He gave a small yawn as the Fire Master ate silently. "Hey."

Kai grunted in response but otherwise he didn't answer.

"How are you?"

A thumbs up.

Neuro frowned, a slight pout forming on his face - not only because Kai was pretty much giving him the silent treatment, but because he had found a cucumber slice in his sandwich.

He found that Kai was right - he hated cucumber.

He spat it out and let out a yell of disgust. "Ugh!"

Kai raised a brow. "Neuro? Are you okay?"

"1. No, because you put cucumber in my sandwich! WHY?! 2. You finally speak!"

"1. I wanted to see if I could kickstart some of your memories with that. 2. Hmph."

"Hmph?" When he didn't reply, Neuro finished off his sandwich and stood - he didn't need the crutch anymore and could walk and run with little pain. He looked at the telepath as he grabbed his gun and sword and walked out. Neuro heard Kai scrambling up like eggs and running over to him.

"What are you doing?"

"Finding the hidden infirmary."

"What, why?"

"To see if there's any medicine that'll help nutcases like you!"

"Oi, oi, oi, there used to be some pretty insane people. Ever heard of Lord Garmadon?"

"From the legend of the Four Faced?"

"The what?" Kai stared on at me in confusion.

Neuro stared back. "You haven't heard it?"

"No. Wait, how do you know it?"

"When I got out of hospital, I read a book about it."

"So tell me, what's the legend?"

"It starts with a snake..."

* * *

 _A small snake slithered swiftly, a dead gleam in its eyes as it approached the prey.  
_

 _It was a silver and red snake with striking copper eyes and a gold tongue, one only legends spoke of, and its prey was a teenager. Red head, brown eyed, fair skinned._

 _Many called him Garmadon.  
_

 _The snake named him prey.  
_

 _The teen saw it, felt no fear and knelt down. In a swift motion, the snake bit his hand and in an agonised cry, the teenager fell back. An adult man ran out, a boy behind. The snake futilely slithered away, being caught by its tail and then killed.  
_

 _That night, they ate snake meat.  
_

 _Days passed and it was then the boy grew his second face.  
_

 _His first face had been the mortal him, the one without the poison, the one with a happy life.  
_

 _His second face, the face of the torture and poison which the snake had granted him.  
_

 _Desperate to save his eldest son, the old man gave his own soul to the boy, dying in his youngest son's arms, making him promise to protect the weapons. The soul sacrifice did nothing but worsen the eldest, and, at eleven years, the boy was forced to try and heal his sixteen year old brother to no avail.  
_

 _Then, a little over ten years later, they were forced to fight, the weapons the younger had sworn to protect protecting him and sending the elder to the Underworld, where he quickly took control.  
_

 _It was then the third face was born - the one of evil, the one without guilt, the one so many would come to fear.  
_

 _Years passed, centuries, and in a battle for the righteous, he took his fourth face.  
_

 _The face that was not his.  
_

 _And prior that battle, his third face began to die. His second face whimpered under the pain.  
_

 _His first face was screaming and crying to see his son once more.  
_

 _Then the fourth face came and broke all their hearts.  
_

 _After that battle...  
_

 _Three faces died.  
_

 _The second face died.  
_

 _The third face died.  
_

 _The fourth face died.  
_

 _And once again, the first face used its eyes, used its mouth, used its nose.  
_

 _And he saw his son._

* * *

"That's not just a legend." Kai chuckled.

"Huh?"

"Lord Garmadon was a person - he was once one of my two Senseis."

"He existed?!"

"Yeah. In fact, you met him before the apocalypse. Sadly, he was sent to the Cursed Realm where he's presumed dead. I worked with his-" He paused, eyes depressed and tearful at the memories that returned once again to torture him.

Neuro didn't seem to notice. "Firstly, I feel honoured to have met him-"

"Eh, once you've seen him a couple of times, it's like, 'oh, it's Garmadon, whoop-dee-fucking-do'. Also, he wanted to take over the world, why do you feel honoured?"

"Secondly, the what?"

"I'll explain it to you later, Nerdo."

"Nerdo?"

"Later."

Neuro huffed and continued his journey, Kai rushing after. "So where are you really going, kiddo?"

"I dunno. Suppose I'm gonna just walk around until I see something that interests..." The telepath trailed off as his eye caught a small shop, similar to a gas station but without the ghastly smell and petrol. On the window, there was a poster advertising hot chocolate, and despite the clear aging and the rips in the poster, the hot chocolate looked extremely appetising.

Kai wasn't surprised when Neuro immediately turned to him and clung to his arm, looking up wistfully. "I don't have a say, do I?"

With a shake of the nod confirming Kai's thoughts, Neuro dragged Kai into the shop, smiling to contrast Kai's ever-frowning face, and stepped in. As the door tapped it, the bell rung out eerily, the place seeming long deserted, and the mere atomsphere threatened to make Neuro cry. He hugged Kai's closest arm before it was pulled away.

"The hot chocolate is still drinkable, Neuro. We'll get several of them, and if the fizzy drinks aren't flat ye-"

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

Neuro shrieked in fear, even Kai jumping and coming near to drop the tubs of cocoa.

Someone rushed into the aisle they were in, anger on his face as his eyes bore into Neuro's, his blue ones blazing with fire as Neuro's unique dark grey ones with icy blue hints cowered.

However, at the moment he turned to glare at Kai, his gaze softened. Kai stepped back, hand trembling so much, he had to place the hot chocolate tubs on the nearest shelf.

"Is that... you?"

"No, it isn't. Just go."

"Don't be so stupid, I know it's you."

"Just leave me alone."

The young man shoved past Neuro and grabbed Kai's shoulders and looked into his eyes. "I thought you'd died!" He pulled him into a frightening hug and held him for a few seconds before releasing him. "Oh Kai!"

Neuro's eyes darted to Kai, looking for answers.

"Neuro... this is one of my old brothers... Zane."

* * *

 _Zane watched the Fire Ninja pace the room, eyes and hands burning with fire as he grew angrier, having decided to, instead of telling him to calm down (which was easier said than done since this was Kai and not Cole or Nya or Lloyd or Jay), listen to what was making the younger male so upset and hostile.  
_

 _"It's not fair Zane!"  
_

 _"What is not fair?"  
_

 _"Jay and I were only having a bit of a laugh and I'M the one who got in trouble, even though Jay came up with the idea! It's only cause he's faster than me!" The teen stomped his foot down like a young child. Zane often questioned his mental age.  
_

 _"What did Jay think of? What was the idea?"  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _"Kai..."  
_

 _"We took some of Sensei's tea."  
_

 _Zane gave a small sigh. "And he came up with the idea?"  
_

 _"Yeah..."  
_

 _"Why'd you do it?"  
_

 _"Cause he told me to."  
_

 _Zane rolled his eyes. "If Jay told you to jump off a cliff, would you?"  
_

 _"Yeah."  
_

 _Zane's eyes widened. "Kai if there's anything you want to tell me-"  
_

 _"I would because I can use Spinjitzu or something to stop myself from dying."  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _"Aren't I clever?"  
_

 _"...Yes you are."_

* * *

"Wait, he's a Ninja?!" Neuro's eyes widened. Kai nodded, explaining" Zane was a robot (Zane noticed he didn't call him a Nindroid like the others had before... Never mind), and some other titbits of information.

Zane smiled at Neuro, who seemed to be studying him, and then watched the fourteen year old walk off to grab some food. He turned to Kai, smile diminishing as he frowned. "I have questions for you."

"Tough, I'm not answering any of them." Kai retorted, turning away.

"You will if you know what's good for you. Where have you been?"

"Why do you care?!"

"Because you're my brother-"

"You were my brother, until I quit."

"-And I haven't seen you for nearly a year! Do you think this is what..." He hesitated. "Our leader would have wanted?"

"SHUT UP!" Kai harshly shoved him and walked away. "Neuro we're leaving!"

"But-"

"C'mon."

"Isn't Zane coming with us?"

Kai paused and turned around the telepath, confused. "What makes you ask that?"

"I read your mind. You want Zane to come with us, because I'm not your brother and he was. You missed him the most because you felt he understood you, but you miss-"

"We get the idea, Neuro." Kai rolled his eyes and turned to Zane. "You coming or not?"

Zane nodded and as the three walked, Zane grabbed Kai's wrist, pulling him back without Neuro knowing. Kai looked at him blankly.

"You better make sure he survives this." That was a command, and Kai nodded slowly.

Satisfied, Zane walked on, catching up with Neuro and talking about some of the battles they'd fought. Kai hung back, taking small footsteps, and watched them.

Something told him that Neuro didn't need him, that Zane could give him more than Kai ever could, that Kai wasn't useful and that he should just die.  
That everyone would be happier without his existence.

It was true, he admitted, but Neuro, as of this moment, wanted to pretend he needed Kai, when in truth, it was really the other way around. Had Neuro declined the offer, Kai would have-

"We're here!"

"Neuro, lower your voice. Some survivors went absolutely crazy and started to hear voices - these voices either told them to kill themselves or others, and sometimes the insanity was subtle." Zane explained quietly, entering the building after Neuro and Kai. As he said that, whether it was meant to mean something or not, he looked toward Kai, who looked away. The Nindroid hummed in thought.

"Neuro," The telepath looked up. "Go and make us something to eat."

"But-"

"Neuro, that isn't a suggestion."

The Mind Master frowned but then nodded and went downstairs, possibly knowing the excuse.

"You've heard them?" Zane turned to Kai, eyes narrowed, hands on his hips and a serious tone in his voice.

"Heard what?" Kai's cocky attitude came to play, Kai giving a (fake) smug smile, crossing his arms to show he was in control (lies) and a (fake) playful tone in his voice.

"Don't play games with me, Kai, I've dealt with people who've heard voices and you are one of them."

And in that instant, the attitude died, he slumped against the wall and to the floor, eyes downcast. Silent.

"Kai, you need help, and don't deny it. This is what I do. How long have you had the voices?"

Quiet. "A year... And I thought you helped those who can't protect themselves."

"I do. People with voices can't protect themselves from what they hear. I help people get the voices out of their head, similar to what Neuro's ancestor did."

"He did? How do you know?"

"After you left, Sensei taught us about the history, the potential powers we could control, the potential powers Elemental Masters could control."

"Huh?"

"The Master of the Mind, Neuro's ancestor, had the ability to enter minds, like a telepath, and not only read their thoughts, but dispel them too. She was able to destroy doubts, thoughts and even beliefs, memories as well, and then she met a troubled man who had voices in his head. She trained so hard and eventually was able to rid the man of the voices."

Kai frowned.

"I want Neuro to be able to reach that potential. Sensei wants him to as well."

"You can't take him away from me! I won't let you!"

Zane frowned, but a smirk came on his face shortly. "When you left the team nearly a year ago, you told us something, the reason why you left. Tell me, Kai Smith, what did you say?"

"I... I don't remember."

"You said you wanted to be alone - you said you never wanted to see us again - you said you never wanted to see anyone again. So why the change of heart? Why did you ask Neuro to accompany you?"

"Well, he had amnesia so-"

"Was it to help him? Because that's strangely uncharacteristic of you, Kai, since you seem so conceited and sometimes refuse to do things unless they benefit you."

"What are you saying?" Kai ordered, not once moving from his slumped and seated position.

"I don't think it was to help him, I don't think you took him on because he had amnesia and needed help. I think it was to help you, I think you wanted someone to be there and he was the only one available."

Kai was silent.

"I think you did it on selfish intent, that you didn't mean to start caring."

Silence.

"But then you did."

* * *

 _"Kai! What are you doing?" His father called from the house, a panicked tone audible in his voice. "Get back here!"  
_

 _"I'm only looking at the ocean." He gasped. "Daddy, I can see a boat!" He pointed toward the blue tax collector of water, waving his hand. "Daddy, Daddy, come look!"  
_

 _"Kai Smith, get away from the cliff!" His father rushed toward him, scooping him up into his arms, and looked over the cliff edge fearfully. "You should tell me where you're going!"  
_

 _"But I was in your sight!"  
_

 _"And you weren't with Nya."  
_

 _"She's my little sister, I don't have to take her."  
_

 _"She's far more mature than you, despite being five. You might as well be two."  
_

 _"But-"  
_

 _"Kai, I'm not always going to be here, you know that right, and you're going to have to grow up." They'd lost his mother when Nya was born and it hurt their father greatly. "You got that?"  
_

 _"Uh huh."  
_

 _"Come on, stupid," His father teased, holding him tightly. "Dinner's ready."_

* * *

Neuro threw the plates on the table before each seat, quiet and knowing. He knew why Kai stared at it, he knew why Zane ate and stared at Kai and he knew why he'd lost his appetite.

He wasn't fucking deaf. He might have been out of sight but not out of earshot. He pushed away his plate, mumbling his loss of appetite and Kai didn't budge. Zane just sighed and moved up toward him.

"What's wrong?"

"I heard what you said to Kai."

Zane stuttered an explanation and Kai looked up.

"What happened? Why does he hear voices? Why did you say everything he does is because of selfish intent?"

"Nothing happened, I don't, because it's true."

"But you helped me..."

"No, I helped myself. I only hired you because I wanted someone there and I didn't care how you felt."

"You have helped me!"

"How?"

"You've told me things about my life and have separated fact from fiction, like the Four Faces Legend. You've told me things I couldn't have found out so quickly."

"I-"

"I hate to interrupt but I think someone's breaking in!" Zane pulled out a gun, treading up the stairs slowly, as Kai and Neuro followed.

Someone moved from the shadows, and Kai shot. They, female presumably from the sound of their voice, yelled in pain and slumped to the ground, arm bleeding.

Cherry red hair, gingerbread brown eyes and near tan skin. Kai knew her instantly and despised her. Neuro recognised her from the infirmary and Zane hadn't seen that face in a long time. "And what are you doing here?" The Fire Ninja questioned, scowling.

"I..." She gasped in pain and gripped her arm, tears in her eyes.

"We can ask questions later, Kai, but for now, she needs medical attention."

Neuro watched the scene unfold quietly. He didn't like how he didn't seem necessary anymore, how he was easily swept aside by a dilemma or even a solution.

He hugged Kai as he watched Zane patch the girl, Neuro didn't know her name, or more precisely her arm, up as she winced and muttered in pain. The ex-Ninja looked surprised, turning to look at him; Neuro smiled up at him, hoping to see that handsome smile again. It would be a kind substitute from the not so handsome frown that dominated his features. Neither frown nor smile appeared, as Kai turned away as quickly as he had turned around. Despite hurt, Neuro continued to hug him from behind, nuzzling his face into his back. No matter how hard Kai shook or how loud he yelled, Neuro refused to let go because he-

Uhhhh...

Never mind.

"Neuro, get off me. No I won't pick you up, no I won't smile and no way in the Underworld will I let you hug me anymore."

"You're warm, Kai."

"Huh?"

"How are you so warm, Kai, when your heart is so cold?"

The girl chuckled, as did Zane, but Kai just frowned more than usual and huffed, turning away from the telepath. He pulled himself out of his grip, Neuro allowing him to this time. With a little surprise, he turned to look at Neuro, eyes curious and slightly wide.

Neuro turned away, going to make himself some hot chocolate with the tubs that they'd bought. Kai frowned - not with sorrow, not with anger but with concern.

Zane smiled as she moved her arm. "Why did you come here?" Kai immediately interrogated, looking at the Nindroid and red haired girl. "You aren't wanted here, Skylor."

"Kai, please, let me make up it up to you."

"You chose your family over us - the ones who hurt us, the ones who hurt you, tried to kidnap you, could have KILLED you!"

"Family is important, Kai!"

"DON'T TALK TO ME ABOUT FAMILY!" He slapped her around the face but then was dragged away by Zane.

"I'm sorry about your parents, Kai, Zane informed me about them ages ago, I really am, but you have your sister, don't you? Nya?"

Kai glared, he clenched his fist but slowly nodded.

"Yeah... her name's Nya..."

"Tell her she should come by the Noodle House - I can stock her on supplies for free."

"Mm hm."

Zane broke the silence that ensued after the conversation between a hostile male and lovesick female. "Skylor, Kai, do you want me to make a hot cup of cocoa?"

They nodded.

"I'll make it." Neuro mumbled, setting down his own cup of the chocolate liquid and making the two their own cups. He was otherwise quiet and emotionless as he handed the hot chocolates to the teenagers, nodding to reply to their mumbles of thanks.

"So, Neuro," Kai looked up from his cup after a few moments. The telepath didn't look up but acknowledged him. "You, uh, want to meet some of the people you lived with before the apocalypse?"

Neuro nodded.

"I'm not one of those people but you met me. I'm Skylor Chen, daughter of Master Chen. I'm fifteen, a few months older than Kai, and I work at Master Chen's Noodle House. Master Chen-"

"Isn't important right now." Kai interrupted. Skylor glared at him from the corner of her eye but Zane shook his head.

Neuro looked at his hands in deep thought.

How many secrets were they keeping from him?

* * *

 _His mother loved him very much, she told him that a lot, and it almost sickened him how much she repeated.  
_

 _He was five when he first remembered her telling him.  
_

 _"Neuro, sweetie?"  
_

 _"Yeah, mommy?"  
_

 _"I love you, nugget."  
_

 _"Love you too."  
_

 _She then burst into tears, he was very alarmed and nearly cried himself.  
_

 _"Oh, sweetie, don't cry. It's my fault really, it's just that's what your father said before..." She shook her head. "Don't worry, nugget, it's not your fault. I love you, sweetie, you never forget that."_

* * *

Silence rested upon the household, Kai showing hostility toward Skylor, love and care toward Neuro and something in between toward Zane.

"Why isn't she gone yet?" Kai asked, breaking the silence. "I mean, her arm's bandaged, she's finished her hot chocolate, Zane's finished his scans, there's no reason for her to be here."

"The streets are packed with the drones, Kai, I'm not going out there and risking death."

"Please, you have your necklace." He gestured to the necklace. "It's your shield."

She glared at him, but looked at it. "I suppose."

"You don't have your Element anymore, but you have its Gem."

"I do."

Zane frowned. "It's an Amber. Fossilised tree sap. How can it be a shield?"

"I don't know. But it's protected her before - I've seen it."

"When?"

* * *

 _"Kai, please, I still love you!"  
_

 _"Well, I don't! I haven't loved you since Jay and Nya got back together! I promise to never love you again!"  
_

 _"Ka- LOOK OUT!"  
_

 _He didn't have time to respond when a bullet landed itself in his leg. He yelled in pain and fell to the ground, leg bleeding. He shot fire out at the surrounding enemy, but to no use as it reached no further than her feet, which were placed mere centimetres away from him. Crimson red surrounded him and she crouched down beside him; he couldn't hear what she was saying, but something about something for his sake and some muttering in gibberish - Latin? Probably.  
_

 _They, the robots (those who died and were turned into robots by his sick hand), approached, and she held up the necklace Kai had originally not seen. They ran at her, guns blazing, but they were deflected as an orange-red-amber-coloured forcefield bubble surrounded them, the bullets bouncing off harmlessly. Kai watched her pull the force field down and taking out gauntlets and boots from a bag he had also not noticed, putting them on.  
_

 _Orbs of energy shot out, he recognised them as ice, earth (this looked like rocks merging together), lightning and water, and hit the enemy. Cyborgs later came, and she used the boots to kick and shoot bullets into the human parts, rendering the cyborgs useless.  
_

 _He watched in wonder as all the attacking things fell, disabled, and she walked over to him, pulled a first aid kit out of her bag and patched up his leg. He nodded a thanks and began to walk away.  
_

 _"Oh, Kai?"  
_

 _He didn't know why he grunted in response, he didn't know why he stopped, he didn't know why he turned around.  
_

 _He just did.  
_

 _"You owe me a favour."  
_

 _"Hmph." He continued his way, he smirked at her sensed hesitation, and, without stopping, he replied.  
_

"Whatever."

* * *

"Leave, Skylor. You have weapons, you have a shield, you don't need to stay here."

"I told you that I'm owed a favour from you."

"We already healed you."

"You're the one that shot me and Zane bandaged my leg and Neuro made me the hot chocolate. You want me gone but I'm not leaving until I get my favour."

Kai glared at her but accepted his fate. He just gave a small nod, turning away and humming in thought. Neuro looked up to see the ex-Ninja staring at him, eyes lost and narrowed and the Fire Master quiet. The Mind Master tilted his head in confusion and, instantly, Kai looked away, directing his attention at Zane. Neuro looked away as well, slicing a slice of cheese and biting into it thoughtfully.

He didn't know all the answers - why did Zane seem like a jerk, why was Skylor so persistent to stay, why didn't Kai like her, who was Master Chen, who were the other Ninja, where are they, were there other Elemental Masters, where are they, how many have died?

Who was Kai?

* * *

 **A/N: That one is a few hundred words shorter than the previous two.  
**

 **By the way, if you are wondering why Zane acted like an asshole, imagine this:  
**

 **One of your family dies, and another, your brother, refuses to believe it. Then the one who refuses to believe it is attacked and it dawns on him that they are dead and leaves the household because he hates you and the rest of the family for not trying to save them, despite him not letting them try to help or refusing to believe it. The world gets worse and your city is plunged into an apocalypse, and you and the rest of your family are forced to either go into hiding or die. You're split up from them and are lonely for nearly a year, helping people who are suicidal and/or homicidal, not always succeeding and watching people die or forced to fight people you once loved as they've either been turned into a cyborg or robot or have gone insane and turned on you.  
**

 **That's kind of what Zane went through.  
**

 **Skylor's gauntlets are kind of based off the gauntlets Garnet of Steven Universe possesses, except these shoot bullets and energy balls - they are amber coloured and have orange and red crystals on them.  
**

 **The boots are based off the boots/prosthetics Mercury from RWBY has (Skylor's aren't prosthetics by the way), and are the same colour and have the same decor as her gauntlets.  
**

 **Just some information for you.  
**

 **If you want a certain character (aside from any of the Ninja, and that includes Misako, Wu and Garmadon and excludes Dareth) to be brought back, message me if you can - avoid reviewing - and I shall consider. Refrain from requesting OCs, I want to keep this strictly OC free (even though Zlatko and Klara would be useful in this...). You can tell me what weapon you want them to have.  
**

 **Also, also, also, also...  
**

 **On the thirteenth of March I was thirteen! Yay! I'm now a teen.  
**

 **Teenage life sucks. XD  
**

 **Anyways, review and bye.  
**

 **(Dammit, I suck at outros)  
**


	4. Graveyard for My Smiles

**A/N: Hey.**

 **Thanks for the reviews.**

 **Oh, by the way, back in chapter one or something, the bit with the 'carry me' where the leader is dying, the reason it says Nya is that I copied it from the one where Kai and Nya are talking about it and forgot to change it. Will have changed it by the time you read this. Just saying.**

* * *

"Kai, you said you'd take me to meet some of the people of my past."

"Did I now?"

Skylor had left about a week ago and Zane stayed, quote, 'for Kai's sake', end quote, to which Kai responded he, quote, 'didn't need Zane coddling him', end quote. Zane only 'ha'ed and told him not to make him laugh.

Kai was peeling potatoes for their dinner as Neuro reminded him of what he'd said for about the hundredth time.

"I remember it, loud and clear. You said you'd take me."

"Funny, I don't remember giving a fuck."

"Kaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiiiii."

"Kai, just take him. I'll prepare dinner while you're gone." Zane smiled. "Remember whose recipe it is."

The Fire Master gave a small huff and looked at the expectant and short Mind Master. "Fine. But you owe me."

"Whatever."

Kai frowned and watched Neuro grab his sword and gun. "He shouldn't have to fight for his life, Zane."

"Why not?"

"He doesn't deserve it. No one does."

"Neither do you. And you can't say it's your fault either - this started long before the incident, Kai, and it only got this bad when-"

"I know. But I could have stopped-"

"No you couldn't!" Kai could barely hear Neuro saying he was going upstairs as Zane yelled. "You couldn't have stopped the incident, you couldn't have stopped him from going insane and you couldn't have stopped this from happening without us or you'd die!"

"At least I'd die trying! Maybe I could have but then would die! At least the incident would have never happened, and I wouldn't have ran away and at least you'd all be safe!"

"But she'd be alone."

Kai flinched at how harshly the words came out and then his hands trembled in anger. "Don't bring Nya into this!"

"But you already did."

"Huh?"

"Kai, you became a Ninja for Nya. You tried to become a blacksmith for Nya. You did so much for her, because you loved her and she was your sister. If she-"

"SHUT UP!"

Zane went quiet and nodded, turning back to the potatoes. "Just remember Kai..."

"Nothing is your fault."

"..."

"In fact, if you want to blame someone..."

"..."

"Blame the First Spinjitzu Master."

"KAI!" Neuro yelled, walking down from upstairs. "HURRY UP!"

Zane smiled. "He reminds me of you sometimes."

Kai frowned.

"Impatient, a bit childish, means well. He can be whiny."

"I wasn't that whiny."

"No. You were worse."

Kai went quiet, remembering that day, wistful. "I wish I could go back, Zane, to before the beginning."

"Can you even remember the beginning?"

"No."

"Well, it was over a year ago." It'd been a year since the incident, but the apocalypse had started about five months before, beginning in December (and very near Christmas Day - 24th) and the incident and the even worse apocalypse (at least more people lived in the previous apocalypse) happened five months later in May (14th). It'd been about two weeks less than a year now. "I don't blame you. Do you want me to tell you?"

Kai went to speak.

"KAI!"

"You'd better go - the impatient can't wait."

Kai turned away from Zane.

He smiled gently and genuinely.

Something he hasn't really done since the 24th of December.

He ruffled Neuro's hair, who gasped at the ruining of the neatness. He chuckled. "Neuro, you drama queen. The world is in a ruined state and people are dying or dead and you freak out about your hair? Your hair should be the least of your worries." Kai, nonetheless, helped him neaten it back up.

"You can't speak. Zane told me a few days about how you could spend hours spiking up your hair and you'd sulk in your room if it got ruined or if anyone messed it up."

Over the few months that had passed Kai and Neuro had been acquaintances, Kai's spiky hair had fallen to a more fluffy style, and since he'd long ran out of gel, he couldn't put it back up - not that he cared anymore.

"So, you ready to meet some old friends of yours?"

"I, uh, guess?"

"Mere minutes ago you were screaming at me because you wanted me to hurry my ass up."

"I didn't say that."

"You wanted to."

"How do you know that's true?"

"Is it?"

"No! What, you some kind of mind reader too?"

"Nah, I can just feel it."

"What, like sixth sense?"

"Nah. Just... instincts."

"Why? I'm not your brother."

"I have a sister, Nya. Younger than me by about a year. Stubborn, defiant, not at all the stereotype. Pretty girl. Dating Jay."

"Where are they?"

Kai paused for a second. "After I left the team, I kind of lost touch with all of them. Even Nya. Especially Nya."

"Why especially?"

"..."

"Kai?"

"Nya's the reason I left." His hands turned into fists and they trembled. He'd stopped walking.

"I'm sorry I even brought it up..."

Kai continued on walking, Neuro following slowly. They returned to the infirmary, Neuro shooting Kai an odd look. He followed him in, now not in pain from shooting himself in the leg, and stayed very close to him.

Kai strolled up to one of the doctors, and tapped him on the shoulder. "Doctor Shadow, right?"

"Yea- Oh, hello Kai." The doctor responded. "What brings you here?"

"I told Neuro I'd take him to meet people of his past so..." He pushed the telepath toward him.

The two stood in silence.

"H-Hi."

"Hello. My name is Shadow. I already know yours. I am sixteen and I am an Elemental Master." Shadow was whispering, as if scared, and the smile he bore was fake. "I work here as a doctor so I can help people survive the apocalypse."

"This feels weird. I'm shy but I'm not and I kind of want to hug you but you're like a stranger and it feels so weird but normal."

Shadow laughed. "You want a hug?"

"Uh... Sure..." He eased into the hug slowly before relaxing and snuggling into it. "This is almost familiar..."

"Yeah. We lived together along with..." He trailed off, but shook his head. "Anyways, I sometimes carried you to bed, especially if you were tired."

"You did?"

"Yeah, I was like the big emo brother who cared despite giving no shits."

Neuro laughed, as did Shadow, and Kai watched on from the sidelines.

"I was also a bit of a jerk."

"Was?"

"I can't really be a douchebag while looking after people who I probably don't know well."

"True."

Kai smiled. "Well, Shadow, Zane's probably going to wondering where we are. Neuro and I didn't expect the journey to take this long. We're going to find the other two soon."

"Ah. Safe travels, Kai. Could you tell Skylor if you see her she needs to return to the infirmary?"

"She's not returned?"

"No."

Kai frowned. "Funny."

As the two began to walk away, Shadow reached out. "Oh, and, uh, Kai?"

"Hm?"

"Send my regards to Zane. It's been a while, tell him we should meet up sometime."

"I'll be sure to tell him that."

"Oh, and tell him soon - I want to meet him two days after tomorrow."

"Course."

"Thank you."

There was no reply as Kai led Neuro out. "C'mon, little guy. Zane's gonna be waiting for us and we need food."

"Fine." They walked in silence, but then Kai broke the silence.

"Why does Shadow want to talk to Zane? Since the last time I saw him with Zane, Shadow hated all of us. He didn't mention Zane when you had to have your leg healed, though I suppose he might have been worrying hims-"

"Kai, where's Skylor?"

Kai froze, registered the question, rolled his eyes and growled. "I don't know, Neuro, it's not as if I can locate her on the spot. I don't have a falcon like Zane used to."

"What?"

"Zane's a robot, you know that, right? I told you when he found us. He had this falcon robot, or the Falcon, and he'd use it to go places without moving and be able to spy on the enemy whilst lowering the chances of being spotted."

"What happened to the Falcon?"

"I don't know, I don't know everything. I can't answer all of your questions."

"I know b-"

"I was split up from the Ninja, or my ex-siblings aside from Nya, for nearly a whole year. When I left, Zane still had the Falcon and I guess it was either destroyed or turned into one of them."

"Zane's a robot, yeah?"

"Yes, Neuro, why is that important?"

"Kai."

"What?!"

"Aren't robots the enemy?"

Kai went to say that Zane was not an enemy. Neuro knew.

"Zane could have been turned."

Kai paused, nodded in agreement and then his eyes widened.

"ZANE COULD HAVE BEEN TURNED! SHIT!" He grabbed Neuro's hand and ran, the telepath stumble-running afterwards, eventually easing his hand out and running behind him.

They ran into their hide-out, running down the stairs into the basement. Kai lit his hands on fire.

Zane was wearing a pink apron and cooking savoury pancakes.

He was not a threat.

He paused and slowly turned to Kai, raising an eyebrow in confusion and amusement.

Neuro read the apron:

Please do nothing to the cook.

He stifled a laugh.

"Kai, what are you doing?"

Kai struggled for answers but eventually explained how Zane was a robot and he could have been taken over until Zane laughed and proved him wrong.

"Kai, I was created roughly three decades before even becoming a Ninja. The way I was made contrasts highly to how those controlled are made. It is near impossible I become one of them."

"Neuro put it in my mind!"

"He was talking about the Falcon and said it could have been destroyed or turned!"

Zane paused and sighed. "The Falcon was a good ally. I used it to survive during the apocalypse many a time after the remainder of the team split up-"

"You guys split up?"

"We are still recognised as Ninja, and we still are Ninja. After the incident and your departure, we vowed to help those who survived to not face a similar pain anymore. All I know is that we have different jobs, and that my own is to help, guide and protect the people, the job I was assigned by first Doctor Julien and then Sensei. In a way, Kai, you become our inspiration."

"The incident?" Neuro frowned in confusion.

"You haven't told him." Zane frowned, saying it as if he were demanding an answer, not asking.

"It's not relevant."

"Yes it is! It is the reason why you are here, why Neuro is without memories and why Ninjago is in the state it is in."

"So you're saying that if I had save-"

"No, it's not your fault!"

"Yes it is! Everything is my fault!"

"Stop it!"

The two old brothers shut up and looked at the younger.

"I came to Kai to help him, not just for answers. If Kai doesn't want me to know, then I don't want to. Zane, I heard what you said to Kai over a week ago, and because of that, my judgement of you is very conflicted. Besides this and that argument, I hold a positive opinion of you. But Kai, please, for all our sakes, lighten up!"

Kai scanned Neuro's small frame, as if seeing something that he either hadn't seen before or wasn't there before, but sighed. "It's not that easy. What happened near a year ago affected me, and the Ninja, greatly, and it's a wonder how none of us turned insane."

"Kai sto-"

"The reason I don't want to tell you is because... I guess telling would force me to re-live it."

Neuro nodded in understanding.

"Some people that you knew before the amnesia, you'll never be able to see them again because they're dead and robots or turned." Kai looked at the floor.

"There's no such thing as a graveyard."

* * *

Three days later, Zane went to meet Shadow. Rain tried to stab him, but he was still walking slowly, uncaring about the weather. He was reluctant, but he knew where to go.

Ninjago Café, outside, on one of the tables with those umbrellas that looks so romantic.

He saw Shadow sat there, handsome smile upon his grey face, the table looking inviting. Shivering slightly, but not too much, he sat down opposite to Shadow, the umbrella covering both.

"Rain's always been romantic for whatever reason." Shadow purred, stroking Zane's hand gently, the Nindroid not pulling away as he couldn't deny how soft and delicate Shadow's fingers were.

"What do you want to talk about, Shadow?"

Shadow laughed slightly. "Oh Zane, you know exactly what I want to talk about."

"No, I don't."

"You came back for me, Zane."

"... That is one of the reasons."

Shadow frowned. "What other reasons are there?"

"Sensei told me to return from Metalonia as he wanted me to meet him when he comes in a few days. I sensed that people here needed protection more than the Metalonians and when I found Kai, I had all the more reason to stay."

"So I was a bonus, hm?"

"No - you are one of the primary reasons."

Shadow chuckled lightly. "Oh you always know what to say..."

"I do?"

"You do, Zane..."

Shadow removed his hand. "This used to be one of the most romantic places in Ninjago, didn't it? The place would be packed, couples could be seen eating eclairs and croissants all the time. Now..."

"Some of both people of the couples are dead, most have been forced to separate by the death of one of them and the others are forced to survive." Zane hummed in thought. "I have missed you."

"I know..." Shadow smiled weakly. "I brought a croissant and eclair. Made them myself."

Zane smiled back, knowing Shadow had skills similar to Kai's - nearly as amazing as his (and Karloff's) cooking. However... "I thought you didn't like cooking."

"I don't. But since it was a special occasion, I put likes and dislikes aside and made them."

Zane smiled again and bit into the croissant. Shadow grinned as Zane's tastebuds screamed with delight.

"It's good to have you back."

"It's even better to be back."

And the two leaned in for a long awaited, long and sensual kiss.

* * *

 _Kai was bound and gagged, tears staining his cheeks and reddening his eyes. He looked up as the door opened and slammed shut, glaring and struggling against his binds.  
_

 _"Oh don't humour me, Kai, he's not coming back."  
_

 _Kai glared up at him with watery eyes. The speaker wiped them away for him with a mocking laugh - Kai would have attacked them if he could.  
_

 _"Isn't it sad, hey? This happened because you failed to save a life. A single life changed our reality. And you had a chance to save that life, to save so many lives, to allow so many people to keep their memories. It's funny, isn't it?"  
_

 _Kai looked away, but the speaker, his torturer, grabbed his chin and forced him to look at him.  
_

 _"YOUR INEPTITUDE KILLED SO MANY PEOPLE KAI!"  
_

 _Kai screamed something muffled; the one who held him captive ripped it off.  
_

 _"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry..."  
_

 _"I know you are, Kai..."  
_

 _"Please... let him live..."  
_

 _"Kai..."  
_

 _Kai looked up at the captor, the insane one, who grinned maniacally.  
_

 _"I'm not going to take the demands of a weak," One slap. "Scared," Two slaps. "Begging," Three slaps. "LIAR!" Kai was kicked back into the wall, near unconsciousness, his eyes opened just a little bit, dazed and empty._ _"Just to let you know, I'm keeping you alive. Him however... I'm not..." The door opened and shut gently._

 _"Sweet dreams Kai... Dreams would be a nice substitute for your nightmare life."_

* * *

 _"Not the Borg Industries! As in home to super ingenious reclusive savant Cyrus Borg, inventor of the hover car and everything else cool in this world?" Jay yelped in pain as Zane kicked him in the arse, Kai rolling his eyes.  
_

 _"Who cares about Cyrus Borg?" Kai stated, going to make himself some tea from Sensei's tea machine. "If you ask me, people should concern themselves with the lessons of the past. Not waste their time on the disposable fads of tomorrow when-" He turned to see the rest of the Ninja, apart from Lloyd, Nya (as she'd not been one of the Ninja then and Sensei Wu gone, and he groaned.  
_

 _A week later, the children of Sensei Wu's Academy piled onto the bus, where Cole showed them a microphone and proceeded to dance an embarrassing dance, that made Kai want to cross his arms on the seat in front of him and bury his face in them with embarrassment, instead choosing to roll his eyes.  
_

 _"Mr Cole is the worst!"  
_

 _Cole huffed and yelled at Brad, "I heard that!"  
_

 _"So we really are going back to the city. We haven't been there since - you know." They'd been there since the battle.  
_

 _What Kai meant was that, without their Elemental Weapons or Power, they were useless, and he and Jay had been beaten up whilst shopping for a decent meal. Kai was hesitant to go back there afterwards, whereas Jay_ _was buzzing in his chair.  
_

 _"Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We only have today... Or else this offer expires! Get a move on Nya!"  
_

 _"Aye, aye, Sensei!"  
_

 _As they drove through the busy roads, Cole turned to look at Kai. "You don't seem particularly excited."  
_

 _"Eh, I prefer history. A field trip to somewhere focusing on the future isn't my cup of tea."  
_

 _"So you'd rather go to a place with a lot of history?"  
_

 _"Yeah."  
_

 _"Liiiiiike?"  
_

 _"Ignacia Village."  
_

 _"You used to live there, right? You were gonna be a blacksmith, living in your father's shadow."  
_

 _Kai shot a glare at him, the students too busy muttering to each other to listen to their teachers.  
_

 _"I didn't expect you to be such a history nerd. Really, I expected Zane to enjoy that kind of thing, but you..."  
_

 _"So just because I'm admittedly conceited, I'm not supposed to like history?"  
_

 _"No, it's not that."  
_

 _"I did grow up in a village remember, not a big city. I grew up humbly whereas Jay lived in a junkyard and learnt to invent things, you were pushed to be a dancer and Zane was built years ago."  
_

 _"Nya grew up with you, why isn't she a history nerd?"  
_

 _"Dad wanted me to be a blacksmith, he thought that some time making weapons would be good for me, so he left me with one of his friends and took Nya out to Ninjago City. She started collecting scrap metal and tried to build things with it shortly after. I never went to the city."  
_

 _"Kai was almost confined to the house - since he acted a lot younger than he was, he was only allowed out if with Dad, one of the family friends or me were with him, and after my visit to Ninjago City, I became very introverted and family friends were very busy, so Kai didn't go out a lot. It wasn't until Dad died that he grew up."  
_

 _"Whoa..." Jay had listened in now, but the students were still muttering. Zane was walking up the space between the chairs, seeing if anyone needed a sick bag. "And I thought being a dancer sucked."  
_

 _Kai scowled and looked away. Jay hummed in thought. "Maybe you were jealous that Nya got to see the city and you didn't, so that's why you'd rather learn about the past."  
_

 _"Maybe he's stuck in it."  
_

 _"Leave him alone, guys, he's tired."  
_

 _"Is he?"  
_

 _"Yeah, I found him marking history books at five in the morning. He was still awake at seven, no sign of sleeping, sipping coffee." He looked at Kai's face, and indeed the teen was sleeping; he smiled and shook his head at the others, shushing the students as Kai peacefully slept, saying that Kai needed a rest and would greatly appreciate quiet.  
_

 _Jay turned around and ruffled Kai's hair. "He spent a lot of time being the older brother. I'm going to make sure he has a lot of time as my younger brother."_

* * *

 _"How sad, Kai, you ruined it."  
_

 _"Pity it couldn't last."  
_

 _"Still, everything ends Kai."  
_

 _"And you're the reason a lot of things stopped."  
_

 _"You couldn't save your mother, your father, you couldn't stop the incident..."  
_

 _"You're so useless Kai, I'm beginning to wonder why Sensei took you on aside from your Element."  
_

 _"I think it was pity."_

* * *

They ate the meal in silence, Zane and Kai refusing to look at each other, Neuro feeling very uncomfortable.

Kai was fighting back tears, wondering how it had got here despite the clear answer.

Zane and he used to be so close, the robot caring for him when he fell ill, improving his cooking skills by showing him little secrets, carrying Kai whenever his leg decided to ache to the point where Kai couldn't bear to walk and even treating him like a younger brother - scolding him when necessary, hugging him when necessary and if Kai wasn't sleeping, Zane would stay with him until he slept, and Kai would do the exact same in a heartbeat.

But now, the two couldn't bear to look each other and were always arguing. Though he was metal, Zane's hugs were very warm and Kai longed for that physical and mental warmth that possessed him whenever the robot held him in his arms.

Zane wasn't angry, no, but he felt a strange feeling that made him refuse to look at Kai. He too missed the old days, when they were all together and happy and everything, even if it was for a short time, was sunshine and roses.

Kai might have been wearing a good mask for years, but Zane recognised that he was still that scared little boy who admired himself in the mirror so he could check on how hidden his pain was. That was the reason he cared so much for him, back then, why he showed him what he showed him and why he treated him how he treated him. He longed to ruffle that messy, fluffy, soft hair just one time before-

Never mind.

"You're both thinking the same thing."

"Huh?"

Zane looked up from the plate at Neuro.

"You both miss the old days, when you two were very close and you wish it could come back."

Kai frowned. "Neuro, you know you could easily read my mind about everything. The incident, what happened, everything I know."

"So why don't you?"

"Yeah, why don't I? Thing is Kai, I don't want to. You'll hate me more if I do read your mind and it would be invading your privacy. I want you to tell me in your own time, and I may die before I know answers."

Zane tapped Neuro's hand, the younger male looking up.

"Neuro, as an Elemental Master, you have a lot of potential - when you unlocked your Potential, you felt a fraction of the power you could control. None of us have tapped into that yet, not even the rest of the Ninja and I, but Sensei decided to train us for a while before sending us out on missions. We are much more powerful now, and Sensei wants me to gather up the rest of the Elemental Masters who survived and bring them to me so he can train them so they can eventually save our world." Zane smiled. "That is my main mission, the one with the voices is my secondary mission. Kai,"

The Fire Ninja looked up.

"He wants you too."

Kai froze, then lowered his cutlery slowly and leant on the table with his elbows.

"He can want me all he likes."

Zane frowned at the Fire Master.

"I'm not going back."

"Why not?"

"I refuse to do anything for that man!"

"Why? Sensei wants to train you, he's willing to accept you with open arms, and so are the others! Kai, he wants to train you so you, we, can save the world and restore its former glory!"

"Why should we?! We let so many people die, Zane! Why wait until now to make a difference?!"

"..."

"For once, you're speechless! Sensei is not as great a person as he's led you to believe! He took you away from your lives and he's the reason why you died!"

"I died to save you!"

"WE WERE PRACTICALLY STRANGERS!"

"YOU WERE MY FRIEND!"

"I HAVE NEVER HAD A SINGLE FUCKING FRIEND!"

The commotion died down, Neuro sat shaking, and Kai and Zane were standing up. The telepath hiccuped as he shook, about to cry.

"What?"

Kai's fists clenched and unclenched before he finally sat down and ate, going silent. Zane too sat down, asking no further questions.

Neuro looked at his food, pushing it away and also walking away. He didn't feel the older two's eyes burning into him.

He wasn't sure whether that was good or bad.

* * *

 _"Neuro!"  
_

 _He held Neuro in his arms, in a tight embrace, refusing to let go as they held each other.  
_

 _"Oh you're safe! Promise you'll never leave me again!"  
_

 _"I promise."_

* * *

"So, how's progress?"

"Better."

"Better how?"

"Well, we're working on a better metal for the robots, fire resistance, and the hope of the citizens is slowly depleting."

"And the Ninja?"

"We've only found him."

"Speaking of him, he is..."

"Not coping."

"Does he know?"

"No sir."

"If he finds out, we'll have to silence him somehow."

"He seems emotionally attached to his partner. Seems to be making him better weapons."

"Superb."

"Superb?"

A thin smile appeared on the speaker's features.

"Very superb. You can take the rest of your life off."

"What do you m-ugh!" The informant was interrupted by a bullet in his head.

"That's what I mean."

* * *

 **A/N: Yeah.  
**

 **Basically, if you didn't understand the Shadow and Zane scene, they are in a relationship and are keeping it undercover.  
**

 **To me it makes sense in a way, especially with Zane's new personality.  
**

 **To be honest, I just wanted a plot twist.  
**

 **I didn't even consider the shipping until now.  
**

 **Eeeeeeeh...  
**

 **Kai and Zane do not hate each other, but have negative feelings toward each other - Kai did sort of abandon the team and them. That was probably a bad decision seeing as he was an important** **part of it, and had he stayed with them, he may have coped better. This whole fanfiction could have been avoided.  
**

 **So, in a way, it is Kai's fault.  
**

 **I am a horrible person.  
**

 **Anyway.  
**

 **A song to describe Ninjago - RWBY's 'Time to Say Goodbye'.  
**

 **The apron that Zane wears, the colour is sort of from Ninjago and RWBY and the writing is from RWBY.  
**

 **Lie Ren must be protected at all costs. He's like a black-with-a-streak-of-magenta-haired and magenta-eyed version of Zane.  
**

 **But wears green and a bit of black and pink and several other colours.  
**

 **And less talkative.  
**

 **Nora, his best friend, is like Jay.  
**

 **Holy shit I want a fanfiction of that.  
**

 **But I cannot be bothered to write.  
**

 **If I write it I'll forget about this fanfiction and I don't want to do that.  
**

 **This chapter is the longest.  
**

 **The first part took up near half of the length.  
**

 **I kid you not.  
**

 **I just read some of Ninjago's Season Three's Episode 1 (The Surge) and Kai talks about how he thinks people should concern themselves with history and not the future.  
**

 **"History is important, gentleman [Cardin Winchester and Jaune Arc]. If you can't learn from it, you're destined to repeat it." - Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck, RWBY.  
**

 **Don't you just hate it when all your favourite characters have little screen time?  
**

 **Like NEURO, DOCTOR OOBLECK, LIE REN, MERCURY BLACK, ROMAN TORCHWICK (R.I.P) AND SEVERAL OTHER CHARACTERS FROM DIFFERENT FANDOMS.  
**

 **All but Neuro are from RWBY. See my insanity?  
**

 **Kai's my favourite character but he has a lot of screen time. So much even I'm annoyed. I mean, I like Kai as much as the other being but Jay or Cole or Zane or Nya or even fucking Wu are** **available - surely you can deliver that pun or phrase or whatever through one of them.  
**

 **I didn't forget Lloyd. It's just that he too has too much screen time.  
**

 **And don't say it's because he's the main character because ALL THE NINJA ARE THE MAIN CHARACTERS.  
**

 **He's overpowered anyways.  
**

 **...  
**

 **This A/N isn't so much an A/N as it me rambling.  
**

 **You have full permission to rant at my rambling.  
**

 **I just need someone to be in the RWBY fandom so I can fangirl with them.  
**

 **I only have two friends who are in the RWBY fandom, and I only see one at school (and he's leaving soon due to it being his last year) and the other I see a lot.  
**

 **I wrote this chapter in three days.  
**

 **That's record time for me.  
**

 **I'm fucking proud of me.  
**

 **Are you fucking proud of me?**

 **I'm proud of that chapter name.**

 **It was going to be Graveyard of My Emotions.**

 **Then Graveyard of My Dreams. But that could have meant suicidal thoughts which aren't displayed in this chapter.**

 **Then Graveyard for My Dreams.**

 **It then became Graveyard for My Smiles.**

 **Sadness and anger are emotions and Kai feels negativity... So Graveyard of/for My Emotions would mean emptiness. Emptiness is hard to write.**

 **This A/N is fucking long man.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter, please review and all that shit.  
**

 **I'm not even going to bother saying bye because I hate writing it because I fail at outros.  
**


	5. Wish I Never Asked

**A/N: Thank you kindly for the reviews.**

 **Also, I'm well aware that the two characters at the start already have designs and names but I don't care. I wanted to design and name these characters in their human form so I did. Shush.**

 **Oh, and Kairocksrainbow, I deleted your reviews with the story and the continued praise because they were kind of spam. Sorry, but I can't put up with it.**

 **Really, really sorry if I upset you. You have full rights to hate me.**

* * *

She patrolled the city streets, carrying her handbag on her wrist, sunglasses shadowing her eyes, a small smirk on her face. He walked alongside her, wearing a beret, his hair in a small ponytail, a knowing smirk on his face.

"So, sweetie, what are we going to do now?"

She chuckled a little. "But I'm not your sweetie, now am I?"

"Ah, but can't a man dream?"

"I suppose... But I'm always here to crush their dreams."

"You're so nice, aren't you?" He put a hand on her well-developed chest and pushed her back gently. "Ooh, firm."

"Quit it, Doubloon. You never did tell me how you got your voice and human appearance back."

Doubloon chuckled lightly. "And you," He poked the middle of her breasts lightly. "Never did tell me how you got your beautiful looks back, Dogshank."

"I prefer for you to call me by my name, stupid."

"Stupid isn't as good."

"Shut up!"

"So what is your name, beautiful?"

"Beatrix. And surely yours is different than your pirate name?"

He paused for a frame of time. "I'd rather not..."

"Why not? Don't you like it?"

"No..."

"What is it?"

"..."

"Doubloon..."

"Ezekiel."

"Beatrix and Ezekiel. Beautiful names, beautiful pair." She threw back her black hair and pulled off her sunglasses, just about avoiding poking her eyes which were an abnormal honey yellow. "You look good in a beret."

He looked up at it, the burgundy hat, and smiled as he rearranged it. It went well with his sherry red hair which contrasted his near pale white skin. She had tan skin.

"Please, call me Doubloon still."

"Why?"

"It's much preferred." He shrugged.

"Why?"

"Are you going to ask why for everything?"

"Why'd you want to know?"

"..."

"Eze- Doubloon, come back!"

He stopped and sighed. "Why do you want me to stay?"

"Because you're important to me..."

"How so?"

"You... You just are."

He went silent.

"You're the only one who's cared for me since the beginning of my life, you know that?" He whispered, looking at his scarred hands.

"Yeah... I know that now..."

* * *

Second day. Zane and Kai hadn't so much as looked at each other since their meal, and Neuro had gone to bed for an early night - Kai hadn't slept that night.

Neuro was still asleep, which worried Kai - Neuro never slept this long and it was becoming dangerous as it passed ten hours. He decided to shake Neuro awake and tell him they were going to meet the next person in his past. "Neuro, wake up."

After fifteen minutes, Neuro opened his eyes, but proceeded to ignore him.

"Neuro please. We're going to meet someone else from your past."

No response.

"Kai, leave him." Zane grabbed his wrist.

"Don't tell me what to do! Let go of me!" He pulled his wrist free, and Neuro covered his ears and hid under the blanket. "You're aren't helping, Zane!"

"Neither are you!"

Neuro groaned as they continued to argue. He sat up, his chest bare (he'd decided that night it was too warm for a T-shirt), and glared. Kai stared at his chest for a moment, blushing a little, before shaking his head and throwing a T-shirt at the teen. "You'd better get dressed."

"Why?"

"Neuro, do you want to meet people from your past or not?"

"... Fine." He got dressed quickly and ate quickly and he and Kai left quickly. "So, where we going today?"

Kai turned around and tapped Neuro's nose. "Not saying just yet."

"Why not?"

"Reasons." Neuro huffed and rolled his eyes, allowing Kai to lead the way. He saw how Kai didn't grab his wrist but his hand. His face reddened and they walked, palms becoming sweaty. Kai chuckled at this reaction, letting go temporarily to ruffle Neuro's hair. "Cheer up, Nerdo, you'll find out soon."

For about ten minutes, they walked in silence, but Neuro was amazed they weren't ambushed by the enemy, until Kai said, "I hope you understand that you can't meet everyone from your past."

"Why not?"

"Some of them have died..."

"Oh..." Neuro looked at the floor.

Kai lifted his chin. "Hey, come on, don't look so sad. It really hurts to see you sad."

"..."

"Neuro?"

"It hurts to see you sad, Kai, but you're always sad. Why?"

No response other than Kai's hands going in his pockets and him continuing to walk.

"Sorry..."

A small mumble was the response but Neuro crept his hand into Kai's trouser pocket and gripping his hand, pulling it out and wrapping it around his shoulder to hug him. Kai quietly allowed him to do that as he led the way.

They came to a block of flats, Neuro frowning in confusion as Kai climbed up the wall. "Uh, Kai? I was never a Ninja?"

"Oh." Kai dropped down since he wasn't too far away from the ground.

"Plus the door isn't locked." Neuro opened it.

"Oh."

They travelled up the stairs slowly, hands still intwined with each other, the spaces between their fingers perfectly fitting, Neuro's fingers rubbing the back of Kai's hand soothingly. He stopped at a door and knocked on it.

Neuro didn't know what he expected - a normal flat room, with a couple of doors leading to a bathroom, a bedroom and a closet and a kitchen and living room.

No.

It was one large room, clearly the walls had been knocked down, and the living room walls had weapons hanging on them, from swords to grenades and from staffs to boots, and the kitchen was half-kitchen, half blacksmith shop. The bedroom was that but it had recipes for food and weapons and anything else that had to be made and the bathroom was covered with guides and metal and groceries. The closet contained the few things the person owned.

Neuro stared in wonder as the person brought them in. "Whoa..." He stared at the person behind this.

He had crow black hair to his shoulders and wore a strange looking hat that reached his shoulders. His eyes were chocolate brown and his skin was tan. He wore gauntlets and some strange armour.

He hadn't noticed Neuro yet, as he and Kai were busy talking about something to do with weapons before the man's eyes fell upon Neuro.

He was tall. Really, really tall. Neuro must have been half his height, perhaps an inch more.

The man's eyes watered and he pulled Neuro into a tight hug. "Karloff thought he never see Neuro again!"

Neuro choked as Karloff hugged him, looking to Kai.

"Sorry, Karloff know about amnesia."

Who doesn't? Neuro pondered, relieved as Karloff released him and held him by the shoulders.

"Name is Karloff, eighteen years old," Neuro stared in confusion. Just freaking eighteen?! "And an Elemental Master."

"Who isn't?"

"Quite a few, actually, seeing there's barely ten in existence. The Ninja are Elemental Masters and all the Elemental Masters know each other and keep in touch. You and I are an exception." Kai explained, turning his attention to the weapons, hand still firmly gripping Neuro's.

"But before the amnesia, I was in touch with them?"

"Yeah. Shadow and Karloff your flatmates. This flat you lived in. You youngest of four, were like brothers." Karloff explained, eyes trying to ignore the clear holding of their hands and face trying to keep a smile off it.

"Four?"

Kai let go of the telepath's hand, walking over to the living room and admiring the weapons. "Karloff, may I talk to you? Neuro, why don't you go learn a recipe or something?"

Before Neuro or Karloff could respond, the door knocked loudly. Karloff pulled it open, to see a red-haired, beret-wearing young man who was probably in his mid-twenties and a black-haired, sunglass-wearing young woman who was probably in her mid-twenties. They were roughly the same height, the woman a little taller due to her abnormal height. Karloff welcomed them in, telling the two that the two at the door were his two best and most frequent customers.

"Customers?" Neuro frowned.

"Karloff got to make living. Karloff make and sell food and weapons. Karloff buy and fix weapons too." The two who'd just entered followed the eighteen year old into the living room, the sofa acting as a counter and till.

"What Karloff do for you?"

"My dear friend Ezekiel," She gestured to the male. "Was almost killed by the robots since his 'arm'," She put quotation marks around 'arm'. "Broke."

"'Arm'?" Neuro frowned, Kai gently hitting him across the head and stating he shouldn't be so nosy.

The male pulled the weapon out of his bag with his left arm (it was similar to a gauntlet but was a gun-turning-sword with a Roman-boot-like bracelet that went up to his elbow attached to it) and threw it on the sofa, showing it to Karloff, not speaking a word.

His right arm was bandaged, put in a sling and bloody, and they could see why.

The bracelet that wrapped around the arm for a better arm was completely crushed and would cut into the unfortunate wearer's arm with gaping, deep, bloody wounds. The sword was bent and the handle, which contained a gun, was utterly destroyed.

"In bad state, but not unfixable." Karloff mused.

"You made that weapon! You hurt my friend!"

"Karloff no mean to. Karloff fix weapon for half price."

"I demand it for free!" The woman banged her fist on the sofa.

"Half price for fix and new weapon."

She growled. "Fine." She selected a weapon, the same kind that was being fixed. "How much will that cost?"

"£30.50." He replied. "Weapon used to cost thirty two, half price sixteen, weapon fix usually twenty nine, now fourteen and fifty."

She produced the money, which he took, and set to work after giving her the weapon. Kai walked up to Karloff and began muttering to him.

Neuro stood awkwardly near-but-not-too-near the two customers. The man looked at him, eyes running up and down him, and then promptly thrust out his left, unharmed arm to shake his hand. Neuro hesitantly shook it.

"Hey..." The telepath awkwardly stated. "I'm Neuro..."

The man looked away, biting his lip. He shifted his beret slightly, and gazed emptily at his arm.

"Sorry, he's just... shy." The woman interrupted the telepath's thoughts, holding out a hand to be shook. "His name is Ezekiel, and I am Beatrix."

"Hello..."

She then dropped the weapon into his arms, Neuro yelping as she did. "Just a gift, since I have no use for it after his weapon is fixed." Beatrix gave him a warm smile. They had a nice conversation, Ezekiel even joining in after a while, but eventually the weapon was finished and handed to them and the two had to leave. She wrote down something on a piece of paper and handed it to Neuro. "Just in case you ever want to find us again."

He looked at it, confused. "But this says every-" He looked up to see the door closing. "... Where..."

Kai walked over to Neuro after a few minutes of conversation with Karloff. "You ready to go buddy?"

"And meet the third person of the flat?"

Kai went quiet.

"Maybe..."

Neuro frowned in confusion.

"Maybe not."

Neuro sighed. "I suppose it's more likely to be maybe not?"

"Neuro, I would love to deny that, but that would be lying to myself all over again."

* * *

 _"I'm really sorry Blayze, I don't mean to take advantage."  
_

 _"Relax Teanna, Kai loves playing with Neuro." The man smiled as his six year old son and his five year old daughter played with his wife's friend's five year old son. "How did you and Arika meet?"  
_

 _"By chance really. Our friendship began a few years before Kai was born, we met at the supermarket and she was struggling. I helped her and a friendship just became." The young woman sighed.  
_

 _Blayze sighed but looked as Kai ran over to him, arms reaching up. "You want a piggy-back?"  
_

 _"Yeah!"  
_

 _Blayze set his son on his back, the boy squealing in delight.  
_

 _Neuro whined as his best friend got picked up and he didn't.  
_

 _"Neuro, I'm sorry, but I can't."  
_

 _"Why not?"  
_

 _"I just can't."  
_

 _"Blayze!"  
_

 _"Ah, Cliff!"  
_

 _"Who's this?"  
_

 _"Teanna, this is Cliff Gordon, Lightning Master. Cliff, this is Teanna, Mind Master."  
_

 _"And who are these sweet little guys?"  
_

 _"The one on my shoulders and the girl are my kids, Kai and Nya, and he," Blayze gestured to Neuro. "Is Neuro, Teanna's boy."  
_

 _"Why's he upset?"  
_

 _"I'm not strong enough to pick him up."  
_

 _"I can fix that problem." Cliff set Neuro on his shoulder, the little boy squealing happily as he met Kai at eye level.  
_

 _"So, I heard about your son. Pity you had to abandon him there."  
_

 _"Yeah... I really wanted to keep him, I really did, but his mother was going through post-partum depression and she threatened to kill him if I didn't get rid of him. He has potential, I can feel it."_

 _"What about your actor dreams?"_

 _"I have an audition for Fritz Donnegan, you know, that comic?"  
_

 _"Yeah, of course, you know I'm also a sci-fi nerd."  
_

 _Teanna rolled her eyes as the two 'adult' men started to talk about their silly comic.  
_

 _"Mummy?" Neuro asked her, looking at her.  
_

 _"Yes sweetie?"  
_

 _"Where's Daddy?"  
_

 _She went quiet except for a sigh.  
_

 _"Where's Daddy?"  
_

 _That's exactly what she was wondering.  
_

 _What was he doing now?_

* * *

"She just gave that to you, eh?" Kai looked at the weapon. "Little big, but that means you won't end up like him. We'll just shove some paper balls or whatever in there. Bubble wrap maybe. Or cotton wool."

"Or we can Karloff to mould it to my arm size."

"1. That costs money, Neuro. 2. Then you could end up like that guy. You know - sling, huge cuts through your arm."

Neuro frowned slightly.

"Kai, what did you talk to Karloff about?"

* * *

 _"Karloff, I need you to do me a favour."  
_

 _"What is favour?" Karloff asked, fixing the weapon that had crushed and nearly impaled the man's arm.  
_

 _"I need you to make a weapon. Personal, original, one-of-a-kind. Never to be created again."  
_

 _"What kind of weapon?"  
_

 _He showed him the design and told him what he wanted for it.  
_

 _"For you or Neuro?"  
_

 _"Neuro."  
_

 _There was a small silence as Karloff nodded, confirming he could make it. He stuffed the design in his pocket. "You know, if Kai no become ninja and stay blacksmith after getting back Nya, Kai could doing this."  
_

 _"If I had stayed a blacksmith after Nya returning, none of this would have ever happened."  
_

 _"Lots of things happen because Kai ninja. Some negative, yes..." Kai looked at the ground but then at Neuro. "But most positive. Green Ninja lived, Garmadon turn back, you met people. Imagine if Kai never became_ _ninja."  
_

 _Karloff went silent for a second as he continued fixing the sword.  
_

 _"Maybe none of us be here."  
_

 _The Metal Master leaned over and tightly hugged Kai, who was surprised to say the least.  
_

 _"Karloff want to say... thank you."  
_

 _"For what?"  
_

 _"For being ninja."_

* * *

 _He was so close.  
_

 _He was so, so close.  
_

 _He tried to reach the Fang Blade, knowing his Potential unlocking would secure victory, but it wasn't unlocking.  
_

 _"Why won't my power unlock?!" He was the last one to gain it, he was the last ninja to join the team and he was going to unlock it by grabbing the Bla-  
_

 _"Kai! Help me!" His head turned toward the voice, Lloyd Garmadon - tiny terror, wannabe villain, nuisance, the world could do with out Lloyd Garmadon.  
_

 _There was something in that patheticness that the son of the Dark Lord that made Kai turn his back on the Blade with only slight reluctance and go to save Lloyd, who, unlike the Blade, was a living being.  
_

 _There seemed to be an aura of some sort surrounding him, and it was then Kai knew.  
_

 _Lloyd was destined for greatness.  
_

 _He leapt across the rocks floating in the lava, ignoring the heat that wanted to lure him into eternity, calling out, "Come on, let's get out of here!" He met Lloyd with a hug, not only to assure the boy they, or at least the son of Garmadon, were getting out alive, because if Kai didn't survive, then it really wouldn't matter (and perhaps the others would be glad to see the back of him).  
_

 _"But the Fang Blade!"  
_

 _"Forget it," He responded with a yell, despite himself. "The place is falling apart!" Holding onto Lloyd, he used his Spinjitzu to jump on and off the rocks in the lava that would surely sink if they put any weight on them at all.  
_

 _He jumped on a rock, weakened a little and tired, wanting to sleep - he could sleep then and ther-  
_

 _A wall of lava jumped up, waking him up immediately and blocking their exit.  
_

 _He could hear the desperate calls of Lord Garmadon (to think he could feel desperation) from where he stood, hopeless.  
_

 _There was a way Lloyd could get out, but he'd have to do it alone, and he knew Lloyd would never forgive himself if he let Kai die here.  
_

 _He felt his existence fading, and he held Lloyd closer.  
_

 _And then he felt it.  
_

 _Potential.  
_

 _The volcano erupted, and Kai could only imagine the despair Nya and Garmadon surely felt since there was no sign of the pair.  
_

 _And to think Kai thought they'd be happy to see the back end of him.  
_

 _An orb surrounded him and lifted him into the air, and he wanted to sleep now he knew he was safe, but he struggled to keep his eyes open and desperately held onto Lloyd's miniature frame to assure Lloyd was safe with him.  
_

 _Was it terrifying, to see a fiery orb floating toward them, which may contain not the alive Kai and Lloyd but their crispy corpses?  
_

 _He heard Jay yell something, and he landed on the boat, flaming fabulously and Lloyd stumbled and fell onto the floor. He stood for a second, seeking praise, which his Sensei rewarded with a nod, and it was then he decided to sleep.  
_

 _Luckily this only meant pass out and he could hear the others rushing to him.  
_

 _He loved being a ninja._

* * *

 _"So why aren't you a ninja anymore? Why'd you run away from the truth and lie to yourself that one of the Ninja hadn't died and that they'd come to you and tell you breakfast is ready and that you'd come down, smiling and happy and they'd hug you and you'd all eat and none of you would be angry at each other and you'd be fine and everything would stay the same. But it couldn't be, not after h-"  
_

 _"SHUT UP!" He screamed, tears a river on his face, shaking trembling at the harsh truth.  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _Kai's breaths wavered as the speaker approached him and stroked his chin gently, only scaring Kai more, before suddenly grabbing his chin, digging his sharp nails into it, making Kai cry out feebly in pain.  
_

 _"You try to show off the lack of emotions and that you're mentally and emotionally strong but you're weak and you know it - physically, mentally and emotionally." They laughed at Kai's vulnerability and let go of his chin, chuckling.  
_

 _The chuckle grew into an insane laugh within seconds and Kai cowered before it.  
_

 _"And to think this, your weakness, I, the deaths, the sacrifices, the slaughters... To think this whole apocalypse happened because of a single death and a few wrong moves."  
_

 _Kai wanted to curl up, but he didn't want physical pain as well as emotional pain inflicted on him.  
_

 _"And to think those wrong moves were on your behalf."  
_

 _Kai whimpered.  
_

 _"If only you'd accepted it."  
_

 _With a kick to the head, Kai passed out._

* * *

"So, ready to go home?"

Neuro looked up from the paper Beatrix had given him after a long time of empty gazing and gave Kai a look of confusion.

"What did you say?"

"Weren't you listening?"

"I was... reading..."

"Neuro, that literally only says one word and you've been gazing at it for nearly an hour. What's up?"

"I can't help but feel you should know them."

"Never seen 'em before in my life, what you talking about?"

Neuro frowned and looked back at it.

"Neuro, stop it." Kai took the paper and shoved it in his pocket. "Ready to go home?"

"Yeah..."

Kai offered his hand to Neuro. "First, I want to go get some food."

"Can't Zane make it?"

Kai went quiet.

"Sorry..."

"It's not your fault." Kai took Neuro's hand and led him down the streets, walking past several cafés until Kai suddenly stopped.

"Chen's Noodle House?" Neuro raised an eyebrow at Kai, who ignored him and nearly dragged him into the building.

A man, perhaps late twenties, early thirties, was at the counter, with cinnamon brown hair and cerulean blue eyes. His skin was fair. He looked up. "Well, well, if it isn't Kai Smith!"

"Hey Dareth."

"What you here for? Sushi? Noodles?"

"Dareth, you know I hate sushi, I'll have the omurice *****. What about you Neuro?"

"Uh... Noodles?"

"Coming right up!" Dareth scarpered into the kitchen, calling to the chef their orders, and then rushing back. "So, Kai, how you doing? Haven't seen you round these parts for nearly a year."

"You could say I was avoiding old friends." He grabbed Dareth's collar, pulling him in. "Where's Skylor?"

She'd left them a little over a week ago now, and, despite what she'd said, she'd left without a favour from Kai, and during the night when Kai'd unusually slept. There'd been no sight of her.

"Has she returned?!"

"She said she had to do some errands for an old friend's friend! She came back and told me she'd be back in a few weeks, that's all!"

Kai let him go, pushing him back. "Neuro, make small talk with him, I'm going to help the chef." He left the seat, walking into the kitchen.

Dareth looked over at Neuro. "Why was he so interested in Skylor?"

"I don't know. He seemed to hate her when she lodged in our house-thing."

"Look, I don't know what happened to fuel that hatred, but Skylor still loves Kai, and she wants him to see that just because her family were evil, it doesn't mean she shouldn't work in her father's shop. She also doubts it's just because they were evil and she works in her father's Noodle House Kai hates her."

"What else could it be?"

"Kai was going to be a blacksmith before becoming a Ninja, like his father intended."

"And?"

"Kai's an orphan."

Kai returned with the food, giving Neuro the noodles and eating his omurice.

Neuro could barely eat it.

* * *

 _Hopelessness._

 _Fear._

 _Defiance._

 _He didn't mean to, he wished to tell them, he didn't mean to make the deal with Nadakhan and get imprisoned and leave them all alone. The sword was a prison, he saw Wu and Misako and Clouse all imprisoned and he_ _knew that he'd become like that too. He didn't want to but even he had his limits of power._

 _He felt the prison dragging him down._

 _He could hear a calm voice, his father's, whispering how everything would be okay, assuring him, and he knew those words from his past._

 _"Kai, everything will be fine. Okay? Mummy's had to go now, but everything will be okay."_

 _"Kai, it's fine."_

 _"Kai... Take my hand."_

 _And he almost did..._

 _But Father was dead._

 _And taking his hand would mean giving up and leaving his sister behind._

 _"Kai, promise me something."_

 _"Yes, Father?" He'd spoken, and now he said those words again._

 _"Never give up. Never leave Nya. Protect her, and let her protect you."_

 _"Yes, Father."_

* * *

As they left the Noodle House, Kai was quiet and thinking, and Neuro knew better than to interrupt.

"Neuro?"

"Yes Kai?"

Kai looked down at him, eyes of old age and filled with the past. "Let's say I had a friend."

"Yeah..."

"And he made some bad choices. Let's say he hurt his brother emotionally and was using someone so he'd have someone who loved him. Would you hate him?"

"No."

"Why?"

"He probably had his reasons."

"I see..."

There was a longer period of silence as they walked on, occasionally hiding from the robots.

"How you adjusting to the weapon?"

"What, this?" Neuro gestured to the weapon Beatrix had given him. "It's okay but it needs to be my arm size."

"Fine, we'll get Karloff to adjust it. I need to talk to him again anyways."

"You never did tell me what you were talking to Karloff about."

"I said it was business stuff."

"You're lying."

"How do you know?"

"I just do."

There was a longer period of silence than the last, and Neuro collected his thoughts.

He was thinking about Kai the most, and how wonderful it must have been to be working with him, to see him laugh, smile and enjoy life so much, which he now of course struggled to even attempt nowadays, and what it must have been like to know him as a child.

He hadn't seen many children, but he knew somehow that most were happy little demons that you either loved or despised, usually a mixture of the two where you wanted to throw them off a bridge but be there at the bottom to catch them.

Surely Kai was the same?

And what about Zane, the other Ninja and their Sensei? What were they like then and now?

Where were they?

Where was Beatrix and Ezekiel?

Who was the one who had started this?

What had happened in the incident?

What the fuck was going on now?

What gave him amnesia?

Where was the fourth person who Shadow, Karloff and he had lived with?

Who was his mother?

Who was his father?

Why had he never seen his father?

Why did the scientists kill his mother?

Why was he in hospital when he first came to after the amnesia?

How had Kai contacted him?

How had Kai's parents and everyone else precious to Kai or him who'd been killed, in or out of the apocalypse, died?

Why did Kai ask him about his friend?

"Kai."

"What, Neuro?"

"Where's the fourth person who I lived with?"

Kai went to speak, but a group of cyborgs appeared, seven in the shape of a triange. At the point was a cyborg with a mostly human face, the human having caramel brown hair and red sunglasses on his face, his skin very fair indeed.

Kai gave a small sigh.

"Kai?"

"Well you asked... And there he is."

* * *

 **A/N: CLIFFHANGER!  
**

 **Yay, completed this chapter in three days!  
**

 **XD  
**

 **Yes Doubloon (A.K.A: Ezekiel) and Dogshank (A.K.A: Beatrix) will return later. I have plans for them...  
**

 **Talking of him, my version of Doubloon's design is from a couple of people:  
**

 **His red hair (and its length and it being in a hairband) is from my OC Mehmun, who, fun fact, is based of Clouse, with the hair colour and backstory and family changed. Yes, he worked for someone and temporarily was an asshole, especially to his daughter (who, another fun fact, is basically the trolling, asshole-y, bitchy, genderbent version of Neuro, but with sorcery as well!).  
**

 **That was fun to write.  
**

 **The beret comes from RWBY's Coco Adel (who is an absolute BADASS!) and the attitude (in battle a badass, usually quiet and shy but once better known flirty and awesome) is a mix of Fox (quiet), Coco (in battle a badass and awesome) and Neptune (flirty). They are all from RWBY.  
**

 **His weapon (and Neuro's temporary weapon) is based of Fox's - Fox's doesn't have such long gauntlets and they aren't styled like Roman boots and his, unusually, doesn't turn into guns.  
**

 **A lot of references for one character.  
**

 ***Omurice (the meal Kai ate at Chen's Noodle House) is an omelette made out of fried rice and usually topped with ketchup.  
**

 **The more you know!  
**

 **The sunglasses Beatrix wears are from RWBY's Coco Adel as is the handbag.  
**

 **I kind of imagine her being like the Ninjago version of Coco, except she used to a pirate.  
**

 **I can't help but use references guys.  
**

 **I'm considering writing a crossover of RWBY and Ninjago but I don't know what teams they'd be in and their team names and their weapons (ALMOST EVERYTHING IS A GUN GUYS!) and who'd be the leader.  
**

 **AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!  
**

 **Please keep those reviews coming!  
**

 **I'm proud of this chapter!  
**

 **Bye.  
**


	6. Pain and Pills

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews.**

 **ponygirl009, I would love to tell you where Jay is but he will come later in the story. I think you'll be glad to know he is a big part of the story and is very important.**

 **Anyway, on with the chapter!**

* * *

 _A snowflake settled on his nose, he brushed it off silently, looking up at her quietly, his cheeks reddened as she flicked back her hair, turned to look at him and flashed him a gentle smile.  
_

 _He looked down at his sling, thinking about how it was snowing in the early days of May, spring, but was brought out of his thoughts as a snowflake tickled his nose and made him sneeze. She laughed, saying his sneezes were of a kitten's, which annoyed and embarrassed him at the same time.  
_

 _She had that effect on him._

In his sleep, a gentle smile appeared on his face, knowing that was the events that transpired earlier that week.

 _The scene faded out like fog settling on a hill, dark and foreshadowing, and it unsettled him as an unknown force dragged him to another scene; he could feel a tight grip on his wrist that threatened to halt his blood circulation like five hairbands on a single wrist, and it let him go as it showed them sitting at a café, drinking a drink and eating food, laughing like friends, but something in that scene showed him they were more than just friends.  
_

 _He had what he wanted.  
_

 _Her.  
_

 _Just like his captor promised.  
_

 _But then he heard yells, but his dream self and she didn't, and then a yell of warning.  
_

 _A bullet pierced her skull, and she fell dead.  
_

 _He screamed her name._

He sat up, cold sweat, alert, scared and whimpering. He trembled, and she woke to his whimpers. She scrambled over, saw him scared and crying, and, wordless, pulled him into a tight embrace, which he quickly sank into, wrapping his arms around her tightly, begging her quietly to never leave him alone, which she promised to never do.

"It's okay, you're okay, I'm okay, I promise to never leave you alone, okay? I'm not going anywhere, and neither are you." She pulled away, and he let her with great reluctance. "You've been having these nightmares for weeks, we need to see someone about it."

He shook his head.

"It's worrying." She insisted.

"But there's no one to see me."

"We can talk to one of the doctors at the infirmary."

"They do physical injuries..."

"There's gotta be a reason for your nightmares, man!" She sighed, exasperated, shaking her head. "You've put off seeing a doctor about it for weeks, and I've put up with your protests for weeks. Not today! When morning comes, we are seeing someone and you cannot stop me."

He huffed as she pushed her bed closer to his - it might as well have been a double bed - and flopped into it, wrapping a comforting arm around him as she slowly fell asleep.

He let out a small squeak of embarrassment, and in her sleep she whispered, "You squeak like a kitten."

He hoped she'd never find out about the deal.

* * *

"So. You finally accepted my offer?"

"Yes. It was a while until I could accept as I was constantly surrounded by people."

"And you have a curfew, I presume?"

"Yes, sir."

Thin lips smiled, slender fingers drummed on the arms of the chair, a chuckle left his throat.

"Why did you accept my offer? Let me remind you that there is nothing in it for you, that the work you do is beneficial for me only."

"Are you questioning my loyalty, sire? Do I need a reason for what I do?"

He chuckled once more and shook his head. "That'll be all. You may go." The new recruit departed and he sighed, standing and walking away from the chair, but a smile still on his face. He picked up his old weapon and sighed, missing the time when he could use along wi-

His fists clenched and he threw open his closet door, revealing stairs, and walked down them, each step causing an echo, slow and precise, menacing. He called out.

"Guess who...?"

A door was at the bottom, and he opened it.

A prisoner was chained up on a table, he'd just woken, gagged and bound, but not blindfolded. He liked to see them cry and he liked them to know who it was.

"Having fun down here?"

The prisoner didn't respond.

"You look so pathetic." He peeled off the gag and knelt on his legs and pinned down his arms. "I've really missed you, you know."

"Get off me. Let me go." The prisoner weakly yelled, strength failing.

In his best gentle and somewhat seductive voice, he responded, "Uh, uh, uh... Not yet..."

"What do you want with me?"

He grinned, leaning in slowly so their noses touched ever so slightly. "I can give you the one thing you want."

"Which is..."

He stroked the prisoner's cheek.

"Her." He immediately bounced off the prisoner, looking over at the corner of the dungeon, and smirking.

"I presume this is yours?" The captor, the person who created the robots and continued on the apocalypse, guessed, walking back over to the prisoner.

He placed a burgundy beret in the middle of a sherry red hair covered head and then left wordlessly.

* * *

 _Silence at first, and then slowly, a young child, presumably five, entered the scene, the background completely black and black mist surrounding the child.  
_

 _The child's head was faced toward the floor, red hair drowning him, both hands holding something.  
_

 _The left held a beret. The right held a torn teddy bear, which had eyes of crow black and fur of peanut brown.  
_

 _The child was male, scars covered his exposed arms.  
_

 _He wore a T-shirt, scarlet red, and trousers, cherry red, and sandals, buckles of silver and apple red strips and the usual colour of the sole.  
_

 _He knew the child all too well, he fell to his knees and reached out to him, silent.  
_

 _The child's head suddenly shot up, and in anger, he yelled.  
_

 _"YOU LET ME DIE!"_

He awoke with a gasp, trembling once again, and then looked at his bed's covers, tears rushing from his eyes and dropping onto the covers, and whimpered before sobbing loudly, burying his head into his knees.

He didn't mean to let that innocent, happy child turn into a criminal and ruin his life, but he'd lost the strength to fight back.

He muffled his sobs so she wouldn't have to wake and slipped out his bed, seeing the sheets wet, and not from the tears, since his night clothes were wet too. With a sigh, he dressed into his day clothes and shoved his night clothes into the sink and changed his sheets, washing them viciously but quietly so she wouldn't wake.

Tears still ran down his cheeks and onto the floor but he didn't care anymore, he just concentrated on destroying any evidence of the nightmares. He set them out to dry, hiding them so she wouldn't find them and question him but still they'd dry.

He decided to take a bath, to take the chance to reminisce.

He filled the tub with warm water, stripped down and stepped into the bath, keeping his chin above the water, lost in thought.

After a while, he washed himself, stepped out the bath, dried himself and dressed again. He found his T-shirt soaked (he'd carelessly flung into the sink by accident) and decided he'd get another one from the closet. He opened the door after draining the bath to see her standing there. He jumped and nearly slipped, well he would have if it hadn't been for her quick reflexes that caught and balanced him.

"You've been in there forever. Why'd you take a bath?"

He shrugged. "Hygiene."

She chuckled. "You're a strange one." She ruffled his hair. "What happened to your shirt?"

He held it up.

"Carelessly flung it into the sink, again? Will you ever learn?"

"Probably not."

"You get that chest covered up, okay? I myself am taking a shower, and then we are going to see a doctor about your nightmares."

She pushed him out of the bathroom with a teasing shove and slammed and locked the door behind him. He rolled his eyes and put on a T-shirt.

He sat a while in thought, considering sleep, but she was awake now and if (or when - they always came) he had one of those nightmares, she'd hear him screaming and he didn't want the attention again because it confused and sickened him because every bruise, scar, cut, graze or injury was the only way he could count how many times his parents showed him attention but a hug didn't linger as long as the pain and it just wasn't right.

So instead, he sat, but then stood, walking up to the window and leaning on the windowsill on the inside, looking out quietly.

He'd stayed silent for years, he could stay quiet now.

She came back, got changed into clothes that left lots for the imagination and hugged him from behind. He blushed slightly and asked why.

Her reply?

"I know what happened this morning."

* * *

"Kai, who is that?"

"He was Griffin Turner, fifteen years old, Master of Speed, your fourth roommate and sort of older brother, terrible cook, but now?" Kai sighed. "He's one of them. Killed by a robot and turned into one of them. No conscience, only wires and programming. Like that robot that looked like Lloyd but this used the actual guy's brain and body. Nasty piece of work." He patted Neuro's weapon. "Time to put this baby to work."

"But it's too big!"

"Just grip onto the weapon and use it." Kai ran into battle, sword aimed at the Griffin robot. "You take on the others!"

"Why do you get to take on my brother?"

"Because I'm your boss, remember?"

"But-"

"Neuro!"

The telepath rolled his eyes and took on those nearest Kai, stabbing one in its chest and swinging it into another. He shot the one behind him and kicked the one in front and stabbed continued to impale the rest until they fell.

Kai grabbed Griffin's neck and flung him to the floor, impaling him with the sword, but Griffin was tough and kicked Kai off, fighting back. Kai shot him, stabbed him, kicked him.

Eventually, it took Kai's pyrokinesis to defeat him, melting the metal of Griffin and since Griffin's brain was dead without the wires, the Speed Master turned from cyborg to corpse.

"Couldn't you have at least tried to redeem him?" Neuro asked, walking over.

"He was a bit of a douchebag in life, kiddo. No point trying, it was never happening."

Neuro frowned as he looked at the corpse.

Something hurt about seeing Griffin dead.

Kai led him back to the base, where Zane was happily making food for two.

Neuro watched Kai sit down far away from Zane and looked back at the door. He crept out before anyone could notice, to see Beatrix and Ezekiel walking down past them. He waved at them and ran to them. "Hey guys!"

Ezekiel gave a small nod to greet him while Beatrix pulled the telepath into a tight hug.

"Hey, buddy! Can't believe it's only been a few hours since we saw each other." She patted his arse, to which he squeaked, and she laughed. "Aw man, you sound like Ezekiel when he squeaks, and he squeaks like a kitten."

Both blushed and protested about her remark, saying how they did not sound like kittens; she shut them up by pulling them into a tight embrace. "Hey Neuro, I'm just taking Ezekiel to the infirmary about his arm," She gestured to the sling. "And he's been having nightmares every night for weeks on end."

"Beatrix, you're making a big scene about nothing."

"Ezekiel, you wake up either screaming, crying or gasping. And this is every time you go to sleep."

Neuro frowned. "Sounds pretty bad to me."

Ezekiel crossed his arms and huffed. "Now you're against me too?"

"Anyway, you wanna come with?"

"Sure, I guess. Kai's being boring again and nothing better to do."

"Great!" Beatrix ruffled his hair and he neatened it up. "Just like Ezekiel. You guys sure you aren't brothers or something?"

* * *

 _"Hey. How you doing?"  
_

 _"You okay buddy?"  
_

 _"Why do you still deny it?!"  
_

 _"Kai? Are you okay?"  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _It didn't happen.  
_

 _It didn't happen.  
_

 _The incident never happened.  
_

 _He didn't let it.  
_

 _No.  
_

 _Why were they asking him how he was? He was fine.  
_

 _Why were they asking him why he denies it? What is he denying?  
_

 _Why do they give him pitying looks and hug him and why isn't Sensei giving him the same challenges as them? Nothing happened, he's fine, there's nothing to deny and IT NEVER HAPPENED!  
_

 _He...  
_

 _He stopped it.  
_

 _He saved their leader that day.  
_

 _He saved them all and they're all alive but their leader of that day aren't feeling too well and whenever he goes into their room to check on them, the bed's only empty because their leader is getting dressed and there's no reason to empty the room of their leader's belongings because they haven't gone anywhere and they aren't going anywhere because Kai stopped the incident from happening and they're all ALIVE!  
_

 _They're all alive...  
_

 _R-Right?_

* * *

"Neuro, dinner's ready!" Zane yelled up, head tilted toward the stairs. He presumed the younger was upstairs again, exploring - he did that whenever Kai and Zane argued, and he and Kai had just an argument about... something.

Honestly, Zane didn't really know anymore, sometimes he yelled at Kai for the sake of releasing his anger and they mostly yelled about petty things like what to make for that night's dinner or the position a certain object was in or where it was meant to be put.

It was rare they argued about anything major, like Kai's sleeping habits and Zane's new, not as likable personality and Neuro's welfare.

Neuro didn't come down, Zane refused to ask Kai because once again, the Fire Master was refusing to look at him, and he called again. Kai looked up now, also calling Neuro down.

No response.

Zane ran upstairs and into the next floor, turning on the light.

The room was empty.

Neuro wasn't in the house.

"He's not here..."

Kai's eyes widened and he sprinted out the house, screaming Neuro's name. Tears threatened to spill out his eyes and Zane followed quickly.

"NEURO?!"

"NEURO!"

"NEURO?!"

Kai collapsed at one point, panting and tired, and Zane offered his hand.

"I," Pant. "Thought you," Pant, cough. "Hated me."

"I don't hate you Kai. I'm just very easy to anger after facing what I faced and your abandoning us."

"I didn't," Pant. "Abandon you at," Pant. "All."

"Maybe not, but that's what it felt like."

Kai was silent other than his gasping for breath but eventually managed to get his breath back. He hesitantly took Zane's hand and let him help get up. He let go after a few seconds of awkwardness and continued running.

"NEURO!"

"NEURO?!"

They eventually found him with Beatrix and Ezekiel, talking, and Kai ran up to him, picked him up, spun him round, kissed his forehead, then slapped him, grabbed his cheeks and yelled at him for 'being so stupid and running away like that without warning'. Zane just let Kai calm down and then hugged Neuro tightly.

"Never do that again."

"Kai, that hurt..."

"Where did you go?" Zane demanded of the telepath, pulling away.

"Beatrix was taking Ezekiel down to the infirmary for a check up on his arm and to see a doctor about his constant nightmares, and they invited me along and I forgot to tell you, I'm really sorry!"

"It's fine, Neuro, just remember to tell us next time." Zane looked at the two. "Do you want some dinner? I can make some quite quickly, and it doesn't have nuts but does have meat."

"Sure, I guess." Beatrix shrugged but agreed, taking Ezekiel's hand (all but her noticing the blush that coloured his face) and following the Nindroid and Fire Master.

"This place ain't too shabby." Beatrix admitted, nodding in admiration and sticking out her bottom lip. Ezekiel nodded in agreement. "Although at our place, we have beds, not sleeping bags. Where's your bathroom?"

"Top floor."

"Do you use electronics?"

"Who does these days?" Kai chuckled sadly.

Neuro frowned. "Why not?"

"Dude, the person who took over took over using robots. Machines. Technology. He could easily hack into anything that use electricity." Beatrix answered. "Well, not light bulbs. Worse thing you could do with that is make it explode and give minor wounds. And medical equipment, we're forced to use. Don't want any dead people."

"Why not?"

It was Kai's turn to speak. "Griffin wasn't the first person to be made into a cyborg."

"What do you mean?"

"..."

"Kai..."

"This all started with a death, and it'll continue with more."

* * *

 _He opens the door slowly, knowing his job, and he walks in wordlessly.  
_

 _He knows this man, the man knows him and they both know his job.  
_

 _"What can I do for you?" Attempting to wriggle free, eh?  
_

 _This is where he comes into play.  
_

 _"Let them go."  
_

 _"Who?" The man knows, his smirk tells him this, and the scowl upon his own face only deepens at this game. He doesn't like playing games, not with people's lives at stake, and he was taught that a single death had serious consequences the hard way.  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _"Can I interest you in a dancer?"  
_

 _"Let them go, now."  
_

 _"C'mon man, in the apocalypse, a man's gotta make his money somehow."  
_

 _He rolled his eyes. "Start a bakery,"  
_

 _"Can't bake."  
_

 _"Forge weapons,"  
_

 _"Can't make 'em."  
_

 _"Sell things."  
_

 _"That's what I'm doing." The man grinned at him, only angering him more and making him slam his fists on the table.  
_

 _"People are not things!"  
_

 _"Tell my customers that."  
_

 _He stepped back and chuckled. He closed his eyes.  
_

 _He prepared his attack...  
_

 _And attacked.  
_

 _Fist on face, the man struggling, piercing the man's skin with his Element, not killing but still injuring, just like he was taught. He wasn't challenged from then, and he sauntered into where they were kept and opened the cage door, letting them free and silently wishing that it was possible to save every girl or dark skinned person that had been forced into this, but alas, it had taken at least five disappearances of each to alert them, and even then, he hadn't been able to stop them selling more.  
_

 _They were hesitant at first, but he introduced himself, some burst into tears, some hugged him, some thanked him and the rest scarpered as soon as he told them he wasn't a part of this sick practice, and that he was saving them. He stopped everyone who tried to stop them, and sadly, while he created only casualties, they were horrible people who ended up killing about three of the girls and four of the dark skinned.  
_

 _Now they'd be used in this sick apocalypse as enemies.  
_

 _He casually sauntered out, summoning his Elemental Dragon and flying back to the place he called home. There his master stood, calm and quiet.  
_

 _"Did you free them?"  
_

 _"Yes."  
_

 _"Did any die?"  
_

 _Regrettably he nodded, clenching his fists. "Seven."  
_

 _"Did you kill anyone?"  
_

 _"No, of course not."  
_

 _His master nodded.  
_

 _"Any word from Zane or... you know?"  
_ _"No, I haven't heard from either. I'm sorry."  
_

 _"So, so far there's no chance of Kai coming back?"  
_

 _"I don't see why he would want to."  
_

 _"..."  
_

 _"I'm sorry."  
_

 _"No, it... It's fine..."  
_

 _"Are you sure?"  
_

 _Wordlessly, he watched his Sensei quietly leave and then slumped against the wall.  
_

 _He missed those days._

* * *

 _His feet tapped the ground as he sprinted, tears falling from his eyes like a river, legs aching from the sprinting, and he collapsed in a heap.  
_

 _She was gone, she was gone, she was gone...  
_

 _He let out a small whimper, knowing no longer could she comfort him and that he was alone now.  
_

 _He looked at his weapon silently and nodded to no one in particular. He pulled out the gun from the handle, he could hear four pairs of feet rushing toward him, and it hurt him knowing that she could never be one of those. He looked back, as if to check.  
_

 _All male.  
_

 _No.  
_

 _NO!  
_

 _He lifted the gun to his head, he heard the youngest of them scream his name and yelling 'n-' but he didn't hear the vowel, for he pulled the trigger.  
_

 _And fell to the floor.  
_

 _Just another death._

Ezekiel sat up, gasping. They'd stayed overnight at Neuro and Kai and Zane's place, Beatrix grabbing two blankets from the top floor for the two. He looked at his left hand and right arm caught in a sling and choked on his tears.

Wearily, Neuro sat up. "Ezekiel?"

He looked over at the fourteen year old, suppressing his tears so he hopefully wouldn't kno-

"Another nightmare?"

He nodded slowly.

"You want me to get Beatrix?"

He shook his head. "You... You just go back to sleep, okay?" He told Neuro, who sighed and reluctantly did so, and the ex Sky Pirate sighed, laying back quietly and staring up at the ceiling.

He eventually nodded off once again.

 _He wasn't twenty three in this dream.  
_

 _He was five.  
_

 _She was there, a black mist surrounding them, penny brown hair to her knees and in a fringe just above her eyes. He kissed his forehead and stood up.  
_

 _To him, she was a mountain. Strong, tall, sturdy and never fading.  
_

 _They became silhouettes and the blood that shot out of her head was red and cartoon-y and the wound was caused by a bullet.  
_

 _He screamed and struggled against them but was eventually dragged away from her body, and he was put up against the same torture she'd faced.  
_

 _He broke._

Morning.

Zane was awake.

Kai was awake.

Neuro was awake.

Beatrix was awake.

He was awake.

His eyes shot open and he looked around after sitting up, quiet and empty.

"Neuro told me about the nightmare you had at two in the morning." Beatrix handed him the pills the doctor had prescribed. "The only side effect is temporary emptiness, like the doctor said. They should help."

He took them, already emptily staring at her and then at them, quietly whispering that he'd take them after eating, like the doctor said.

He ate slowly and quietly, as if merely holding the pills was giving him the side effect already, and he walked over to the sink to get a drink of water to wash them down, like the doctor said.

She'd wanted to be a doctor.

He looked at the pills, filled the cup with water, like the doctor said, held his hand (and the pills) above his open, waiting mouth, trembling. He dropped them in, like the doctor said, washed them down with water, like the doctor said, and returned to Beatrix.

She held his hand gently and smiled at him.

He didn't need pills to be empty.

* * *

"So."

"So?" The younger man looked at the older one, eyebrows raised and arms crossed.

"We're back. Forced to work together but we're back."

The shorter and younger sighed and uncrossed his arms. "I suppose it's a good thing that we're back. Are you going to try and find her?"

"No, not yet. Why, do you have something you want to do?"

"No."

"Good."

"G-Good?! What do you mean?"

"We know nothing about what's happened to make the world in this state but it's pretty clear people are dying or dead, and if you are or I am looking for something, we might find they're dead."

"Hmph."

The taller man looked at his hands, then back at him. "I hope you're good in battle, because I'm sure we'll be in many."

"So what are we doing?"

"We're going to find the Bounty and the monastery, see if we can get in touch with someone familiar."

"Familiar to you, you mean."

"Yes, of course, you don't know my friends."

"What is the Bounty?"

"A flying ship."

"Like that one?"

"What?" The older and taller looked up. "That's the bloody Bounty!"

"Oh."

"Come on! We have to get on it!"

"Can you fucking fly?"

"No."

"Exactly!"

* * *

 **A/N: I kinda ran out of steam for this chapter, hence why it's a mish mash of things and why some introduce new (canon) characters and why it's shorter than the others.  
**

 **No, the girl in Doubloon/Ezekiel's dream will not appear in anything but his dreams, and even then that's rare.  
**

 **None of the introduced characters are OCs by the way. If they were, this fanfiction would get a lot less reads.  
**

 **Oh and yes, I did take the scene with the captured girls and dark skinned people and modify it a bit from Gotham City, the scene where those two girls have freaking flamethrowers and they free the girls being sold for pleasure.  
**

 **They aren't trying to be racist or sexist (and neither am I) but like the guy said, in the apocalypse, you gotta make your money somehow.  
**

 **Selling things = Money = Weapons and food = Living for another day = Hopefully seeing the end.  
**

 **Sadly, the guy sold slaves for either work or pleasure, and you know what I mean by pleasure.  
**

 **If you don't, damn.  
**

 **Anyway, questions!  
**

 **Which character do you like the most in this fanfiction? Why?  
**

 **Which ship (yes, there are ships in this other than Shadow x Zane) is your favourite? Why?  
**

 **What should the ships be named? Like Jay x Kai is Plasmashipping.  
**

 **Is there any shippings you'd like me to put in (including canon ships, like Jaya or Kailor - Kailor in this is impossible because Kai hates Skylor XD)?  
**

 **What about character theme songs for this?  
**

 **You know, I'm listening to How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20 and it's kind of relevant to this (except that song is about the end of the world and it's a little more happy in a strange way).  
**

 **I finished this in two days.  
**

 **Well, I should say one because I started writing this on the 30th, not the 29th. XD  
**

 **I kind of feel sorry for all the characters in this - forced to kill their dead friends (like zombies but robots!), forced to go into hiding, traumatised, etc.  
**

 **In a way, the Elemental Master who freed the girls and dark skinned (I fucking hate saying that because I feel so rude!) people was putting someone out of business and stopping them getting money.  
**

 **That means they can't survive. D:  
**

 **Still, he freed the slaves from a life of torture and pain. :D  
**

 **I kinda pity Ezekiel/Doubloon.  
**

 **Oh, by the way, final chapter, there'll be a chapter of everyone who died, their age and how they died.  
**

 **Just saying.  
**

 **Anyway, answer the questions please, tell me what you think, and I'm sorry, Kai's Girlfriend, I keep updating. XD  
**

 **The seventh might take a little longer, just gonna say.  
**

 **Peace to all of you.  
**


	7. Echo in the Mirror

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews.**

 **Oh, just a tip of how to remember to spell assassin:**

 **Assassin = ass, ass in.**

 **Oh, and I have never been in a relationship, so I doubt any future kissing/make-out scenes are going to be correct - I literally learnt how to write one by reading, not experiencing.**

 **I suck at life.**

* * *

 _People scream when they're in pain, scared, angry...  
_

 _Sometimes they scream for bad reasons.  
_

 _Sometimes they're dying and screaming is the only thing they can do as their life ebbs away and the other person screams for them to stay awake because staying awake is staying alive (but sometimes they can't stay awake because death is already there and it's so calming to hear death sing and they know they can relax because everything will continue on and they fade away like dust in the wind but their memory is forever there).  
_

 _Sometimes it's only to frighten people, to hurt people, to gain attention, and when he screamed, someone shot his leg, and all he screamed for was because he was going to die.  
_

 _Heh.  
_

 _Everyone dies in the end, why should you hurt someone else, just because you're going to be ripped apart, limb by limb and bleed out in agony, and that's not the worst way you could die._

* * *

Skylor looked up at the person she was temporarily serving, confusion in her eyes as he leant forward. "So, Skylor... How is he?"

"He's fine."

He leant back contently, sighing. "Please go. I want some time to myself." He waited for her to leave before pulling down a screen from the ceiling, and turned on a projector.

The pictures of Ninjago, before and after the incident, came up, and instead of crying like he would have done before, he started laughing, knowing that the Ninja's leader's death was the cause of his insanity, and he clenched his fist and closed his eyes as if suppressing tears or screams of sorrow, but laughed with insanity. His eyes flew open, wet and teary-eyed, but he was laughing.

He was always laughing.

He always had.

Always will.

 _"Dying, dying, little girl,  
_

 _"How I wonder about your soul.  
_

 _"I know those words, they do not rhyme,  
_

 _"But I'm afraid that there's no time,  
_

 _"To care about these rhymes of mine,  
_

 _"For it's not long until you die."_

* * *

 _"So, tell me, how you doing?"  
_

 _"Why should I answer to you?"  
_

 _"Beeeeeeecaaaaauseeee."  
_

 _"Because?"  
_

 _"I'm your friend."  
_

 _He spat in the other's eye, his captor shrieking and slapping him. "HOW DARE YOU?!"  
_

 _He screamed in pain, clenching his fists and making the chains rustle like leaves.  
_

 _"You're going to watch him die, you're going to watch him cry and beg for his life but I won't give mercy because you never did!"  
_

 _"No, please don't!" He begged, fighting against his chains that were so firmly attached to the wall, desperation in his eyes, but something told him that he was begging for the one thing that his captor had just promised he'd never give.  
_

 _"Oh, Kai, I'd love to, but you heard what I said... I don't give mercy. I'm only copying your actions."  
_

 _He whimpered as the insane one stroked his cheek gently and chuckled at his whimpers.  
_

 _"I'm going to make sure you wish you were never born..." The captor whispered, kissing his ear, then his cheek, then his forehead and then his nose.  
_

 _He ran a finger across Kai's chapped lips and kissed those too._

* * *

 _Neuro wiped the blood off his lip and looked up, trying to focus on the enemy.  
_

 _He heard running feet from behind and leapt just as they swiped their weapon, and he landed on their shoulders and pushed them down.  
_

 _They were female, with black hair and wore a patch over her left eye. She looked like a pirate, and her weapon was a cutlass, no guns.  
_

 _She growled and leapt at him, only for him to deflect her by punching her and kicking her in the stomach, and then using his Element to give her a headache.  
_

 _He heard more footsteps and, knowing he was he was better off alive, he leapt up and ran, the belt he wore jumping up and down with the pistols also jumping.  
_

 _He made it to a safe area, and he gave a small sigh, pulling out his pistols and reloading them, releasing yet another small sigh.  
_

 _"So," The voice startled him, but he recognised it. "You get the package?"  
_

 _"Yeah, I did." He threw his head back to look at the speaker, handing them said package. "Ran into some trouble on the way though."  
_

 _The blonde haired teen smirked. "So what are you?"  
_

 _"I'm an assassin, up for hire, gets the job done no matter what, charges a fair fee. Talking about that..." The teen looked over at the blonde. "Pay up."  
_

 _The teen sighed and rolled his eyes. "Oh Neuro, I remember when you were quiet, afraid from heights and a telepath. Not an assassin." He handed the telepath the money anyway - wasn't as if he were about to argue about how the demand was a little... overpriced.  
_

 _"Those days are gone, buddy. Nothing we can do about it." He chuckled at the younger teen, making sure he'd gotten the exact amount of notes. "Any other business?_

 _This time it'll cost ya less."  
_

 _"No thanks, Neuro, but I'll be sure to hire you again." With that, he walked away, and Neuro was left to reflect._

* * *

 _The two hugged each other, their relief to see each other well and alive clouding any judgement and they leant in, stroking each other's cheeks, whispering about how happy they were to see each other, pressing their foreheads against each other, so relieved, so happy, so in love.  
_

 _But the moment passed.  
_

 _Too quickly._

* * *

No dreams.

No nightmares.

No fear.

No emotions.

Emptiness.

All he saw when he slept was a darkness, and when he awoke, he didn't feel relief or happiness.

He felt empty. He sat up, got dressed, brushed his teeth, ate, emptily smiled and held her hand.

The pills were working at least.

Each day, he took two whenever the emptiness began to fade.

He would look at the pills, fill the cup with water, like the doctor said, hold his hand (and the pills) above his open, waiting mouth, trembling. He would drop them in, like the doctor said, wash them down with water, like the doctor said, and return to Beatrix.

He couldn't say he hated it, because when the emptiness came back, he didn't hate it.

He held her hand as they walked out together, going to grab a coffee, which he would quietly sip as his pills set to work.

Two old men (who, Beatrix had to admit, looked quiet good considering their age) were rushing down the streets, following the ship that took supplies in and out Ninjago. "Where you going?"

"We have to get on that ship!" One, with hair going down to his ears and a swept fringe, replied.

"Dude, that's the supply ship. Doesn't take passengers."

"What? They aren't..."

"The only people allowed on are the pilot and the ones who pile the cargo on and off."

"But that's the Bounty... That's where the Ninja live..."

"Not anymore, I'm afraid. Hey, was one of the Ninja called Kai?"

The one who'd spoken, the same guy with the grey hair, nodded.

"Oh, he's actually not far away. I can show you where he lives."

"Why should we trust you?" The other old man scowled, black hair in a ponytail.

"It's the apocalypse, shortie. You have to be in contact with people to survive."

* * *

Zane looked over at Neuro and Kai quietly, the two talking just as quietly, and Neuro was laughing and blushing and...

So was Kai.

Zane chuckled to himself, smiling at the two. While he and Kai constantly argued, he knew the ex Ninja extremely well and knew whenever Kai probably had a crush on someone.

Kai would be annoyed at them at first, perhaps even tease them, then would get protective after a while and then gradually start doing little things like holding their hand, being gentle, hugging them when they needed comfort.

It was all a big, slow path for Kai to take while he built up the courage to say 'I love you'.

However, Neuro... Hm.

Funny, how the mind reader is so mysterious, as if his mind were protected by a wall or barrier that could only be broken through if he allowed it, and Neuro didn't seem to want people to know his thoughts.

Zane sat back and watch the two talk, Kai eventually taking Neuro's hand into his own, the telepath not even noticing. Or at least, he didn't seem to.

He gave a little sigh, standing up and continuing to make the two their food, pancakes, a favourite of the Ninja back when everything was okay.

Suddenly Neuro said something and Kai burst out laughing and stuttering, Zane's face lighting up as the Fire Master's facial features wore more than a frown.

It was a nice change, Neuro truly brought out the best in Kai. He dished out the pancakes and grabbed the lemon for them to juice, since he'd decided to go find his boyfriend, telling Kai and Neuro a fib. He strolled and walked down to the infirmary, where he was sure Shadow would be, which he was.

Shadow took a quick break so he could spend some quality time with Zane, even if it was short. Zane pulled the younger into his lap and started kissing him, Shadow happily complying and laying a hand on his chest, giving moans of pleasure as Zane ran his hands over Shadow's hips, the Master of Shadow grabbing Zane's cheeks and gripping tightly onto his face.

They finally pulled away for air - well, Shadow did - and it left them panting and pleasured. "That was nice." Zane mused.

"Lucky we found a private place for that, eh?" Shadow chuckled (though it was more a giggle if Zane had to be completely honest). "So, how're the boys?" He asked, referring to Kai and Neuro (although Zane did have that fatherly aura around him).

"They're fine. Think Kai's got a bit of a crush on Neuro though, not sure if it's mutual. I was wondering if you knew any signs of him having a crush."

"Aw, cute." Shadow smirked as he thought about it. "You know, Neuro never had a single crush in his life."

"Oh."

"He was never interested in relationships, but you never know. Coulda changed."

"I suppose."

They sat in silence before Shadow looked at his watch. "Gotta go, break's over." He gave Zane a quick kiss on the cheek and ran back into the infirmary.

The Nindroid sat a while in thought as the Bounty flew over the city, casting a dark shadow over him.

He stood slowly and walked back. He heard footsteps that were not his own, they sounded slow and menacing, he almost knew who's they were and he knew it was bad news.

Should he run?

Should he fa-

They grabbed him, laying a glove covered hand on his mouth, holding a cloth. He struggled but immediately stopped when they held a knife to his throat.

"What a shame would it be... If they found your body... Full of holes... And then you scream out in agony because you're not gone quite yet, robot." The voice uttered quietly in his ear, smooth as silk but sharp as the knife at his throat. Zane felt himself fading, there was a substance on the cloth, and his eyes drooped. "Yeah... You sleep now..."

He fell into the body of the threat, unconscious, but barely heard the chuckle they produced as he temporarily turned off...

"This is going to be fun."

* * *

He looked at the container of the pills, hesitant, since they've been so good to him, but she was pleading with him to throw them away as it was hurting him in a way the nightmares could never.

He took two out, filled a glass with water, shook so much the water began to seep out like blood out a wound, tears appearing at his eyes as feeling came back to him after so long of a black void. He looked at her quietly.

"You want me to..." He looked back at the tablets, then at the water and he closed his eyes.

"... Stop?"

"Please, listen to me! They're doing more harm then good!" She begged him, tears in her own eyes, trying to make him understand that she wanted to help but these pills were doing the opposite, forcing him to no longer be in touch with his emotions and therefore the world.

He looked at her, eyes filled with tears, and he looked like he was going to nod and agree and give up this goose chase of trying to cure himself with pills that only substituted the pain and fear with a darkness that was more painful and scary than all of his nightmares, and, now that he was conscious, he remembered how horrible it felt to not smile at the jokes or cry at the pain or not feel anything because they've been taken away from you by two simple pills.

They thought these two tablets would cure him.

She thought they'd been wrong.

He...

He thought...

"Don't you remember how I was given these tablets?"

She frowned.

"The doctor gave them to me, told me how to take them, when to take them..."

She nodded slowly.

"But, you know what's funny?" He chuckled a little bit, somewhat glaring at her but still pained and crying.

She shook her head.

"The doctor would have never told me to take these tablets..."

She was confused.

"If you'd never taken me to him."

And with that, he threw the tablets into his open mouth, barely trembling and threw down the water with them. She watched in pain as he swallowed them.

And then slowly, once again, all feelings died.

This was getting old...

This was getting usual...

This was absolutely fine.

* * *

 _Would they look upon me with shame?  
_

 _Would they be ashamed of what I've done?  
_

 _Would they blame only him or only me for this?  
_

 _Why can they not see through his lies and disguises?  
_

 _Why do they trust him and love him and pity him when I lost too?  
_

 _That's it.  
_

 _I'm done.  
_

 _He'll die.  
_

 _Now._

* * *

Neuro and Kai silently waited for Zane to return, and only when the sun began to set did they truly begin to worry.

"He said he only went out for some fresh air. You don't think anything's happened to him?"

"Neuro, he's a Ninja, Elemental Master of Ice-"

"He is?"

"And a robot! He should be able to protect himself." Something told Neuro that Kai was worrying himself, perhaps it was the fact that he was biting his lip, or wringing his hands like a towel, or stammering a little, or looking to the right a little, or face angled downwards or little sweat beads dripping on his face. "Yeah... He's fine... He just lost track of time." He looked toward the food. "I'll, uh, make us some dinner." He stood up, Neuro's gaze following, and did indeed to start to make their dinner - nothing special, just ham stuffed pasta with sauce and cheese.

Neuro walked up the stairs and peered out the door. Nothing, just empty street and other survivors in their bases. He heard Kai call from downstairs and went downstairs, to see what Kai was calling about. "Yeah?"

"Just making sure you're fine, short stack."

"Not another nickname."

"Eh, it's one of your less commonly used. The common favourite is Nerdo."

"I hate it."

"You hate all of your nicknames, especially that one."

"Don't tell me how I feel about my nicknames!"

"All right, kiddo."

"Oh my Element you're right."

Kai chuckled a little and ruffled Neuro's hair, loving the feeling of his hair in his hands. He could smell a hint of... coconut?

"Why the fuck does your hair smell like coconut?"

"It does?"

"Yeah, kid!" Kai laughed as Neuro scrunched up his nose. "Hey, can you go grab that glass of water for me?"

"Why?" Neuro handed it to him.

Big mistake.

Kai poured what was left of it (half) over his head and the telepath let out this almighty shriek that made Kai howl in laughter.

"KAI!"

"I'm sorry... It was so tempting!"

Neuro huffed but chuckled a little bit, hair dripping with water. "I forgive you."

"Oh?" Kai pulled him into a hug. "Course ya do, I'm Kai!"

"HEY!" Neuro screeched as Kai lifted him above his head.

Kai laughed but then slowly put him down and smiled, continuing the meal.

Neuro pouted slightly after the ordeal but chuckled a while, going to dry himself in the top floor, grabbing a towel but then seeing two strangers and Beatrix and Ezekiel walking calmly toward the door.

Both the strangers seemed old, one with grey hair in a fringe and neatly swept to the side and the other with black hair in a ponytail. Beatrix didn't even bother to knock, she just opened the door and entered, smiling at Neuro and greeting him, Ezekiel staring at him emptily and nodding a greeting.

The grey-haired one asked him if he'd seen Kai, to which Neuro pointed to where Kai was making dinner, which the old man seemed impressed by as he went downstairs, but the black haired guy just stared.

"What?"

Confusion flashed against the guy's face, to which Ezekiel murmured a word similar to amnesia and the guy nodded.

"So, you going down with your buddy?"

"We aren't... friends..."

Neuro frowned and walked upstairs with the towel to dry his hair. He heard three pairs of footsteps going down the stairs so he presumed Beatrix, Ezekiel and the strange guy had gone downstairs.

He finished drying his hair and looked to the bathroom mirror to see his hair wasn't neat and combed back like usual (yes, even during the apocalypse, he combed his hair), but after drying it he didn't expect it to be. Instead of just unkempt hair, his hair was fluffier than Persian cats and nearly standing on end. He huffed and brushed it back, then taking his comb and finishing it off. He admired it, not himself, in the mirror and went downstairs.

"What the fuck?" He asked, seeing Kai being held back by Beatrix by that weird old man with the ponytail, the other old guy holding him back as well. "I literally brush and comb my hair," He saw Beatrix give him a questioning stare. "Don't judge me, and I return to see a brawl between a teenager and a really old man being prevented by an adult and a possibly even older man. What the actual fuck, has this apocalypse turned us all insane?"

The two old men glared at the remark of them being really old and Kai sighed.

"We have some past, Neuro, and the one I've had with this one," He gestured to the grey haired old man. "Has been better than the past I've had with most of you."

"Look, just because we tried to marry off your sister and nearly kill her-" Beatrix began to say to Kai.

"What the fuck?!" Neuro yelled, staring at Beatrix and Ezekiel. "What the fuc-"

"How the hell do you remember that? I barely believed Jay and Nya when they told us about th-!" Kai interrupted Neuro, confused as hell.

"You have no manners, you know that, right? You don't call a guy old just because he looks i-" The black haired guy interrupted Kai, glaring at Neuro.

"Why are we even getting involved with this argument, this has nothing to do with u-" The grey haired guy interrupted the other guy.

"Shut up!" Ezekiel yelled without anger or annoyance, loud enough so they'd all hear him.

Everyone stopped and stared at him.

"What?"

Beatrix simply sighed and hugged him tightly.

"Can you let go of me please?"

With tears in her eyes, she did so. "I suppose you found him. We should go." Without another word, she tightly took Ezekiel's hand and led him out, the man just as silent.

"I should introduce you to them." Kai sighed, giving up his fight with the black haired guy. "This," He gestured to the grey haired one. "Is Garmadon, who for a short period of time was one of my two Sensei and the other one is Clouse."

Neuro nodded. "Mm hm. What do they want?"

"You really have little to no manners."

"Eh, he can be polite."

"Seriously, why are you here?"

"We're here because we've recently returned from the Cursed Realm, physical and not ghosts, and we came back to this world. We want answers as to why the Bounty is no longer the home of the Ninja and how the world got into this state." Garmadon asked Kai specifically.

Kai sighed. "Look, the world's in this state because of some fucked up and stupid decisions that people made and the Bounty couldn't be a home to the Ninja because supplies needed to be brought in and out and it takes less people to do it and even doesn't use as much technology as it used to. It's literally just a flying supply ship."

"And why aren't you with the Ninja?" Clouse pondered aloud, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm not a Ninja anymore. End of."

"Why not?"

"Bye."

"What?"

"Bye." He walked past them and opened the door, gesturing for them to leave, scowling.

Garmadon 'hmph'ed and gestured to Clouse to leave with him, the other rolling his eyes, bidding Neuro a polite farewell and following his 'friend' up the stairs and out the door, which Kai slammed shut.

"Rude much?"

"Eh, Garmadon took over my sister's mind, tried to kill me, never liked me much and countless other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head and Clouse is a freaking sociopath and sorcerer who worked for Master Chen."

"Skylor's dad?"

"Yeah. Don't worry your little head about them though. Pasta's almost cooked."

"Great..."

"What's wrong?"

"... Zane's still not back."

* * *

He awoke to darkness, which made him uncertain if he'd really awoken at all and he tried to move, yet chains held to the ground refused to permit him movement. He grunted as he tried, but then a light turned on above his head, making him gasp.

"Zane! How long's it been?"

He didn't respond, not as if he would want to.

"Why so quiet, Zane, I could always take out your voicebox, couldn't I?"

No response.

"I didn't want to do this, Zane." The captor reached toward where his voicebox was, and the Nindroid flinched. "Knew it."

"What do you want?"

"I want to make a deal with you."

"You what?"

"I want to make a deal with ya, Zane, old buddy, old pal."

He glared at his captor who merely smiled back - mocking him, perhaps, Zane didn't really know nowadays - and leaned in. "C'mon Zane, I won't disappoint."

"You disappointing isn't what I'm worried about." Zane muttered, the remark only catching his captor's interest.

"Then what are you worried about?" Was the response, a question, and Zane immediately had another face in his own, their noses touching gently. "You can trust me, Zane-y, you know you can, why shouldn't you trust me?"

"You hurt him for denying the incident, yet you deny it yourself, pushing it away, convincing yourself that it's not the cause of your insanity, that it would have happened eventually and that it's all his fault h-"

"ARGH SHUT UP!" The captor punched Zane in the forehead, the Nindroid grunting in pain.

"DON'T BRING IT UP! DON'T EVER BRING IT UP!"

"Why not? Don't you want it to exist?" Zane chuckled a little. "Because that means you want the exact same thing as him, but haven't you worked so hard to not be like him at all?" He tutted. "Tsk, tsk, why are you lying to yourself?"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP SHUT UP SHUT UP!" The captor hit Zane harder and as a result, the Nindroid fell unconscious.

The captor fell to their knees and looked at their hands, as if seeing the blood on them for the first time in ages, and began to laugh quietly, the volume slowly growing louder until it echoed around the room. But then, the captor paused, laughter dying. And then...

The captor began to weep.

Insanity didn't bring immunity.

* * *

 _Keep your childhood grace,  
_

 _Keep your smile on your face,  
_

 _Don't let it go to waste,  
_

 _My little brother,  
_

 _Ignore the lies they say,  
_

 _Make it to the end of the day,  
_

 _Soon you'll no longer be prey  
_

 _Of father and mother.  
_

 _Of father and mother.  
_

 _Oh, father and mother...  
_

 _Oh, sweet, innocent child,  
_

 _I'm so sorry for the pain,  
_

 _That you've managed to avoid,  
_

 _Again, again and again,  
_

 _It's new to you I know,  
_

 _It'll never get old,  
_

 _You'll get less beatings, I promise,  
_

 _Just do as you're told.  
_

 _I wish I could have stayed,  
_

 _Protected you a little more,  
_

 _It's not you, just your existence  
_

 _Our parents do abhor.  
_

 _But never fear what lies beyond  
_

 _The grave, after you die,  
_

 _Oh my sweet, innocent brother,  
_

 _It's better here than in life.  
_

 _Keep your childhood grace,  
_

 _Keep your smile on your face,  
_

 _Don't let it go to waste,  
_

 _My little brother,  
_

 _Ignore the lies they say,  
_

 _Make it to the end of the day,  
_

 _Soon you'll no longer be prey  
_

 _Of father and mother.  
_

 _Of father and mother.  
_

 _Oh, father and mother..._

 _Forgive father and mother..._

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah. Chapter 7! Four days! Whoop!  
**

 **It's like 2am when I finished this chapter, haha.  
**

 **The bit in italics is written by yours truly, I call it The Dead Lullaby, and it is a lullaby to...  
**

 **Ezekiel.  
**

 **Yeah.  
**

 **Parents were bitches to him.  
**

 **Garmadon and Clouse! Whoohoo! I kinda like Clouse, especially his design, based an OC off it.  
**

 **Backstory for Nerdo, yeeeeeaaaaah!  
**

 **Thank you NerdyJD, for that AMAZING review that made me die of happiness because I achieved something. XD  
**

 **Anyway, theme songs I have so far:  
**

 **Bad guy (two, one's from RWBY): Kill Everyone - Hollywood Undead. Sacrifice - RWBY  
**

 **Kai: Nothing Left to Say Now - Imagine Dragons  
**

 **Neuro: C'mon - Panic! at the Disco  
**

 **Ezekiel: (I am considering Can You Feel My Heart - Bring me the Horizon)  
**

 **Beatrix:  
**

 **Zane:  
**

 **Garmadon:  
**

 **Clouse:  
**

 **Skylor:  
**

 **Any other characters I forgot?  
**

 **Did you think I was going to finally make Kai and Neuro a couple in this chapter? Well, thou thoughteth wrong!  
**

 **My best friend knows the fate of a lot of the characters and tried to fill the plot hole of how Doubloon/Ezekiel and Dogshank/Beatrix became human and why Ezekiel has the nightmares he has.  
**

 **To be honest I haven't got that thought out.  
**

 **You guys are going to love the last few chapters: I have it all planned.  
**

 **Big thing coming up in chapter nine.  
**

 **So yeah.  
**

 **Calm your tits, people, I've got this. (It's an inside joke. If you don't have tits, hold onto your asses)  
**

 **My mammoth of a cat is next to me and he's staring at random parts of my room as we speak.  
**

 **I'm fucking scared. HE YAWNED, I AM HAPPY.**

 **For now.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed, blah, blah, blah, review, etc., blah, blah, blah, bow to the demon that is my cat.  
**

 **Bye, I guess?  
**


	8. Freedom

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

 **My friend knows exactly how the apocalypse started, how Neuro got amnesia, where the other Ninja are, who the bad guy is, who dies, who lives, how the story ends and, despite not even being in the fandom, is contributing by suggesting little things to avoid plot holes.  
**

 **I have good friends.  
**

 **Damn NerdyJD, that's a lot of questions I can't answer yet XD.  
**

 **ponygirl009, that's fine, and I can't answer that though.  
**

 **Serious question I need you to answer - should I rename this A Small Soul?  
**

 **The reasons I named it When the Darkness Comes:**

 **\- It's about Ninjago falling into a dark state, with people dying and loss and hate and death.**

 **\- Kai has become depressed due to the traumatic events of the incident and then being attacked and nearly killed by the person to continue the apocalypse (what happened before has been touched upon and will be fully explained later).**

 **\- People are making bad choices or are forced to do things against their will because of the darkness looming in and they have to do certain things to survive.**

 **\- Everything they do has a consequence - everything's a shot in the dark.**

 **Okay, reasons why it could be called A Small Soul:**

 **\- Neuro is the main character (as well as Kai) and he's young and stuff, a smaller soul which is important to the story.**

 **\- Neuro could develop the ability to save lives if he gets trained by Sensei.**

 **\- To Kai, the telepath is his salvation and a reason for him to carry on going, so he's the hope, the smaller soul that is depended on.**

 **So, When the Darkness Comes (WDC) or A Small Soul (ASS)? Vote in the reviews please.**

* * *

 _Clouse stood beside Chen, a frown forever on his face as if someone had carved him out of stone, and his master elbowed him slightly.  
_

 _"Lighten up, Clousey Clouse," He winked, which made the sorcerer feel unnerved. "Just because they're gone it doesn't mean you won't see him again. It's likely that he'll share his mother's Element or perhaps even your sorcery. That'll be funny, wouldn't it, if he finds he has sorcery and asks his mother where it came from."  
_

 _"Yes, Master, it would be... hilarious." Clouse responded with a roll of his icy blue eyes. "Absolutely hilarious."  
_

 _"Seriously, you need to cheer up. You're so deadpan and monotone, you're even boring as a drunk."  
_

 _"I don't get drunk... because I never drink."  
_

 _"Oh you have not lived!"  
_

 _"Shouldn't you go back to looking after your daughter... Master?"  
_

 _"Oh stop talking about her as if she's a monster, Clousey, she's just a toddler, just like him. Better yet, she's got her Element."  
_

 _"And how do you know that?"  
_

 _"Sorcery's kind of an Element except it's useless in the staff. She's already touched you and she's been using sorcery quite a bit." Chen chuckled. "Impressive, huh?"  
_

 _Clouse didn't reply, he just looked back at the ocean.  
_

 _"You really need to cheer up, Clouse, I haven't seen you smile since they left."  
_

 _Clouse sighed. "She was my smile." And with that comment, he left, though it was more like a flee since his pace was quick and Chen could sense Clouse was desperate to leave the conversation.  
_

 _It wasn't his fault that this was the exact place they watched the two leave._

* * *

"Tell me Skylor, do you have a reason for working with me?"

"Well, I need the money since few people are buying food at the Noodle House since Karloff opened up his flat as somewhere to buy weapons and food."

"You do, huh?" Her boss chuckled slightly.

"What are you doing?"

"So there's no other reasons? No secret hatred for someone I'm against? No spying? Nothing?"

"No sir. Money is the only way to survive in this apocalypse unless you're... Sir?"

"Mm?"

"Where is... you know? Your boss?"

"You know about my boss?"

"Yes."

"I am my own boss."

"... Oh gosh."

A smirk painted itself onto the facial features of Skylor's boss, and as they approached her, she scrambled back.

"I knew you'd find out in time Skylor, but you know what's funny?"

She tried to look away with a whimper, but nails dug into her chin and drew blood, forcing her to look in the insane eyes. She shook her head.

"You're never leaving, and neither is Zane."

* * *

 _Never let go.  
_

 _Never stop.  
_

 _Need them.  
_

 _A part of you.  
_

 _Take two.  
_

 _Take water.  
_

 _Everyday._

He'd say his life was a nightmare, but these brought safety from them, and he felt no fear when they were in play, and the only time he questioned his (or her) choices was when he emerged from the void.

Days passed quickly. More times than one he fell asleep as soon as he'd take them and then woke when he had to take two more.

But now that he was awake, he was conflicted - the one who'd taken him to the doctor who gave him the tablets was now begging him to stop, and once more, he was staring at her and then the tablets and then at the glass water.

And every time she begged, he would point out how she had taken him to the doctor and then he would take the tablets and he would wonder why she cried because he was better and everything would be fine and the memories couldn't hurt him and the pain wouldn't be there and he would feel nothing.

He couldn't find them that day, when he needed to take them, and he was scared and angry and confused and all his emotions were rushing back and dizzying him. He felt like he was being choked by the cruel hands of feeling after weeks of being left alone by them and he confronted her.

"I'm trying to help."

She said that so much but he didn't need help if he had the tablets and she had the tablets so he couldn't take them again and the newly returned emotions were whispering different opinions, anger saying they needed them, fear saying either way they lose, sadness saying it was hurting them and everything else was screaming in his ears and it took all his might to not scream or faint or pass ou-

"Ezekiel? Ezekiel!"

* * *

 _"Griffin, where are you going?"  
_

 _"You coming?" Griffin grinned, patting to the space behind him on the stone. Neuro frowned at him. "Come sit beside me."  
_

 _"I thought you meant walking over there." Neuro gestured out to the ledge that overlooked the ocean.  
_

 _"Eh, that was the original plan but you're too much of a pussy." Griffin once again patted the stone, and this time Neuro complied and sat beside him.  
_

 _Griffin looked over at Karloff, who was walking the dog (one of the people who lived in the houses beside the block of flats had a dog - Karloff got money from walking it), the thirteen year old grinning as Neuro, twelve and three months, looked out at the ocean. "Come on, squirt."  
_

 _"Don't call me that."  
_

 _"All right short stack." Griffin hopped back over to the land and then ran out to a ledge, Neuro asking where he was going and he gestured to the ledge he was running to.  
_

 _"You're going to the edge?"  
_

 _"Nah, just looking out." Griffin did just that, Neuro joining at his side as Karloff offered to take a picture for a family.  
_

 _Shadow was of course on his phone for most of the refreshing walk but Neuro and Griffin stuck together, since Griffin kept resting his arm on Neuro's head (the teenager had gone through a growth spurt at that time and Neuro was still short, so it wasn't as if it were hard - Griffin had to lean down a little), and Karloff smiled at this.  
_

 _"You're a pussy when it comes to water."  
_

 _"Shut up."  
_

 _"Imagine if there was an apocalypse. What would you do?"  
_

 _"I guess I would find a way to survive. If money is needed, I'd start a job that I could do to gain money. If friends were needed, I'd gain as many allies as possible."  
_

 _"Eh, I'd just make a weapon and kill those who try to kill me."  
_

 _"That's unwise, Griffin."  
_

 _The teen chuckled and ruffled Neuro's hair to his discontent, giving out a sarcastic and dry chuckle. "Very funny, Flash."  
_

 _"I'm not the Flash!"  
_

 _"Suuuuuure." Neuro could hear Karloff laugh in the near distance and could even hear Shadow chuckle._

* * *

Neuro'd been minding his own business when Beatrix knocked on their door that morning - really early morning; Neuro 'minding his own business' had been sleeping and he woke up with a grumble (Kai was sleeping nearby but was locked in a deep one so it was left to Neuro to attend to any duties until Kai woke up).

She was holding Ezekiel's container of tablets.

"Beatrix? You haven't-"

"What, no! I need you to hide these."

"Why?"

"Ezekiel has to let them go! These aren't good for him, aren't good for any of us."

Neuro bit his lip and looked at them. He wanted to argue against it, he really did, but he had to admit empty Ezekiel did more damage than good - he wondered if he could feel pain. With a sigh, he nodded, putting the tablets into his pocket and asking her if that was all.

Beatrix tightly hugged him, breathing in the coconut scent of his hair. "Thank you."

"All I'm doing is hiding tablets."

She chuckled a little; her eyes were wet so she dried them.

"Are you allergic to coconut?"

She burst out laughing and stammered a denial because no she was not allergic to coconuts. "Just... thank you..." She ruffled his hair affectionately (but platonically), which made Neuro grumble even more, and thanked

him.

"You've done that a million time, Beatrix, staaaaahp." She just laughed.

"It's not the same without Ezekiel's flirting or shyness, and I know he really needs to let these go."

"Ezekiel flirts?"

"Only to those he really cares about." A blush grew her face.

Neuro's eyes widened. "You don't..."

"I... I do..."

"Oh my Element that is adorable!"

"Shut up." Beatrix playfully slapped him. "I have to get back. He'll be waking up soon." She hugged him one last time and bid him goodbye.

"What was that about?" Kai mumbled as he sat up from waking up.

"Just doing our friends a favour." Neuro pulled out the tablet container from his pocket so Kai would understand.

Kai smiled gently, as if thinking about something but then shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing, just thinking."

 _Just thinking about my love for you._

* * *

 _"Kai, let me back in. Kai, I'm not leaving that easy."  
_

 _"Just... go away. I'm happier now. I have Neuro with me, he's healing my wounds."  
_

 _"But wounds never fade. Whenever someone hits you, you remember it and you can almost feel the pain, can't you? The incident happened, you know as well as they do, and it's all your fault."  
_

 _He didn't want the memory, but it was hard to not remember the cause of the pain, the cause of the killing, the cause of everything.  
_

 _"Come on, just take my hand and finally be relieved."  
_

 _"No. Neuro depends on me like I depend on him."  
_

 _"Fine. But you'll follow me one day."_

* * *

He knew his mission, and he knew the rules - never kill, only hurt and damage them as far as stealing their memories.

He didn't even click, because surviving made him cold but not heartless.

He didn't even click that stealing memories was just a continuation of what had started a year ago now.

He would always follow Sensei's rules no matter how horrible, because he knew they would never be corrupt and force him to kill people. He pushed away all thoughts as he pushed the doors open, all eyes turning.

"It's been a long time since I last saw you."

"Hmph." He grunted, turning away. "You're a man who knows people, aren't you?"

"Yes... I am..."

"Good, you seen this particular one?" He held up a picture, the one he was conversing with shook his head.

"Fraid not, why?"

"Thought so."

"Huh?"

He kicked the other speaker in the stomach, pushing him back, almost satisfied with the grunt. He casually sauntered over and grabbed his hair, pulling the other forward toward his face. "I know you, buddy, you're a dirty, rotten liar, and it doesn't take much for someone to know when you lie. So I suppose you tell the truth, if it's not too hard for your puny brain, or else you might end up as someone I know."

"All right, all right, sheesh!" The man rolled his eyes. "They're called Ash Cloud, he's done business with me since two months before Ninjago got into this state, and he's assisted me with things like food and money, okay?"

He nodded in satisfaction at the response, knowing full well who was the person in the picture, and put said photo away.

"Why do you ask?"

"He's gone missing recently, and guess what?"

"What?"

"He left a message to his partner. He doesn't specify whether it be lover or business partner but I presume he means both." Upon saying that, he pulled out a written piece of paper, and began to read:

 _"My dear partner, you helped me survive all my thoughts and pain, and I will always remember you as the star in the sky I looked up to as a child and wished upon, for I wished for someone to hold onto and then you came. You aided me, gave me supplies, and I returned them to you, and you supported me. I didn't know you for as long as I could have, but in those few first months, I knew more about you than my own family. Remember me. Survive for me please, for I survived because of you."_

A blush appeared on the fair skinned face of the man he spoke to, and he stammered out a reply, "He never mentioned a lover... And the relationship between was strictly professional."

He sighed and looked away. "Everywhere I look there is denial."

He went to strut out but then the man quickly asked if he could have the picture and message. He gently dropped it on the floor as his reply, and, whether it was accidental or on purpose no one could know, he stepped on the photo of Ash on his way out.

He couldn't care less anymore.

* * *

 _He emerged from the darkness like an angel rising, but with hesitation and fear. The fear was the only thing that rised when he searched his jacket for the tablets but then came to a devastating realisation as he searched through the pockets once, twice, thrice, countless times.  
_

 _The tablets weren't there.  
_

 _Without them he was stuck in a cruel world and he could have screamed.  
_

 _She began to insist she was helping, but the tablets helped him, and he found it really hard to stand all of a suddenly and he stumbled backward, his feet no longer touching the floor and then he was against a wall but she was leaning over him and he was dazed and tired and she was shaking him so hard but his eyes rolled over and he fell asleep but he could feel her pull him into her arms (his shortness didn't make it too hard, plus she was strong) before he truly faded._ _  
_

Beatrix ran to where the boys were staying, holding Ezekiel's now pale frame to her, panting but holding her strength, seeing the building come into sight and hope filled her as she approached it, slamming her elbow against to knock, not daring to let Ezekiel go for a second.

Kai answered this time and the sight before him shocked him to say the least. "So, you finally put him out of his misery?" He joked, to which he got a deadly glare, so he sighed. "Come in, lay him down on my sleeping bag. Neuro's getting groceries, Shadow's gone with him."

Beatrix laid her friend down on the sleeping bag. "I don't know what happened."

"I had a friend who was taking these tablets a while back, his friend took him off, similar thing happened except the friend nearly suffered a heart attack. Turns out the return to having emotions after so long of lacking them is a bit of a shock on the mind and they can't take it. They rarely die."

"Rarely?!"

"Hey Kai, hey... Beatrix? What are you doing here?" Neuro and Shadow entered, Neuro the speaker.

"Neuro, now's not the time, we kinda have a problem."

"Ezekiel!" Neuro gasped, dropping everything and sliding over. "What happened?!"

"Is this a bad time?" Shadow asked, peering over at the four.

"Actually yes." Kai responded, filling a bottle with water, not looking at him.

"Sorry."

"Kai what are you doing?" Neuro asked, raising an eyebrow at what he was doing.

He was soon answered when Kai splashed the water on Ezekiel, the man waking up due to the coldness and he spluttered.

Beatrix tightly held him in an embrace, and then he immediately demanded where his tablets were.

"Ezekiel, they aren't good for you!"

"But I need them! They help me!"

"They're more harmful than helpful, how many times do I have to say?!"

"It's not true! Why are you trying to stop me?!"

"Because I..."

"Because you wha-" He was interrupted by her lips smashing against his. His eyes widened but it set in that the thing that he'd yearned for so long was finally happening and he sunk into it contently.

Kai covered Neuro's eyes, the younger male slapping him in the face, a grin appearing on the Fire Master's face. "It's getting hot in here."

"You didn't... You just made a pun!"

"I sure did."

The two adults peeled their lips away from each other, staring at each other before bursting into laughter and hugging each other.

"Are you two officially dating now?" Neuro asked.

"Yeah... Yeah, I guess we are."

"Oh thank Nadakhan I came off those tablets."

There was an awkward silence.

"Who?" Neuro questioned.

Kai simply patted his hair. "Soon, young one, soon."

* * *

 _"Look at them Kai, look how happy they are."  
_

 _"So?"  
_

 _"You will never be that happy."  
_

 _It usually would of hit him like a brick but he shrugged it off. "Maybe not."  
_

 _"Why are you so content?"  
_

 _"While I do have emotions for Neuro, I am content with our friendship."  
_

 _"But surely you want what they have?"  
_

 _"Yes. But it's like you said, I'll never have that."_

* * *

"Are you ready?" She looked over at him.

"Of course, is there a time I'm not?" He replied, crouching and looking over the scene from the hill. He had to admit, it was quiet nice despite the state of the world, but he could only look down and immediately the view was not so beautiful.

Children were being kidnapped for money or servants (one of them, they weren't sure), being lead in a rectangle shape - four across, six down - with the five kidnappers in front and behind. He was sickened, they were no older than him, some even younger, and he had to suppress a scream of anger. He looked over at her again and nodded, and they slid down the hill on their feet, the rocks flying against and away from them. They pulled down their masks and he stood in front of the line while she stood at the back.

"Huh?"

"You'll pay for your sins." He whispered, drawing his weapon and impaling the first one before kicking at the second one and then shooting their chest. The third one ran at him with a weapon, but he jumped over the attack, on the sword and shot through his head.

Some people didn't deserve to live.

"You finished?"

"Yep."

The children were relieved to say the least, and the older ones thanked the two after they unlocked their chains before rushing off home.

"You think they'll be okay?"

"Hopefully. We don't need more deaths today." He walked off, putting his weapon away on his back and climbing back up the hill. She followed him with no more than a sigh, and they then casually strolled along the top of the hill. When they came to a cliff edge, he stared out, hair being blown back with a little hitting his face. She stood a little ways back, hesitant of what he might do.

He looked at his hands, scarred and bruised, and clenched them into fists, letting a hiss of pain out. He hiccuped out tears and she held him in an embrace from behind.

"I... I miss them..."

"I do too."

"I miss him."

She was silent for a short period of time.

"I do too."

* * *

 _The choice the Djinn was forcing upon him was hard. He wanted so badly to spend time with his now deceased father, but knowing Nadakhan, that would mean he would trapped in the past forever and even the smallest interaction with him could change the future, and he would never see Nya or the Ninja again because he chose his father and death over his family and life.  
_

 _He couldn't just turn around though because his father wanted help and perhaps they could talk for a few minutes before Nadakhan left, but he couldn't risk it.  
_

 _He made his second wish.  
_

 _Immediately he regretted it, Ninjago City's streets empty and no one in sight.  
_

 _Then the girls came.  
_

 _It sounds funny but really it wasn't, they might as well have been foaming at the mouth and each time they yelled out his name, he felt the fear increase and then the shelter was his salvation, but it wouldn't last forever, the girls were coming in, they would get him.  
_

 _Nadakhan coaxed him, and then he made his third wish.  
_

 _He wished it all away.  
_

 _He was so sorry._

* * *

 _"Jay Walker, get your butt in here!" Ed called for his eight year old son for dinner. "Dinner's ready, and your ma's made spaghetti!"  
_

 _"Coming Pa!" Jay yelled back, picking up what was once scrap metal but was now a mini robot (not that it worked, it was just metal) and rushing into the house happily.  
_

 _"Edna, I think we're going to have to go to the blacksmith in Ignacia for some metal since the junkyard is running out of it." Ed sighed as he and Jay came into the house, the little boy setting his robot on the table. "Jay, what's this and why's it on the table?"  
_

 _"It's ma robot!" Jay happily replied, kicking his legs under the table and munching on the food.  
_

 _"Robots go under the table, and stop that kicking." Edna reminded him, not at all fazed by how odd that may have sounded to guests.  
_

 _"Okay Ma!" Jay gently placed his creation under the table and stopped his kicking. Ed ruffled his son's hair and the little boy giggled and continued eating.  
_

 _"So Ed, what were you saying about Ignacia?"  
_

 _"We're running out of metal for inventions, dear, so I'll go to Ignacia to collect some. Might take Jay along with me, the blacksmith has two kids of his own, both a little younger than him."  
_

 _"And how do you know that, Ed?"  
_

 _"I know the blacksmith quite well. He has a son a month younger than Jay and a daughter roughly a year."  
_

 _"Ooh!" Jay butted in - he liked people especially kids and he loved making new friends whenever possible (not that it was easy, since he did live in a junkyard. "I wanna go with Pa!"  
_

 _Edna smiled. "Eat your dinner dearie."  
_

 _"Okay Ma."  
_

 _Ed and Edna smiled at each other and then at their son._

* * *

Ezekiel had shown Beatrix that he was never using the tablets again by flushing them down the toilet and washing out the container and throwing it in the bin. She told him that was a bit extreme with the washing out but he nonchalantly shrugged before holding her tightly and kissing her cheek.

That night they pushed their beds together and basically slept together, Beatrix pulling him against her body tightly but not too tightly, Ezekiel placing a hand on her chest, Beatrix wrapping a leg around his and Ezekiel placing his head in her neck.

When later that night Ezekiel had his nightmare, he awoke with her and instead of breaking or leaving, he gave a content sigh and relaxed once more, his partner not even stirring, and he slept again.

With her by his side, the nightmares couldn't hurt him and he was safe and happy. They were terrifying still, but she was there and she was all he needed.

Ezekiel had everything he wanted in her.

* * *

 **A/N: Beziel/Beatriel (Beatrix x Ezekiel) is canon now. It felt forced a little. It's also called SilentWinnerShipping. I was going to call it PirateShipping, but there's two different pirate crews and about twenty or more pirates in one alone. I could mean anyone.  
**

 **So it's SilentWinnerShipping.  
**

 **It's practically my ship, you can't control me. XD  
**

 **Bless Neuro, he's so confused.  
**

 **Skylor got herself in some deep shit and she has no shovel to dig herself out.  
**

 **I want KaiNeuro (HotMind? I don't even know nowadays) to be canon too guys.  
**

 **You'll just have to wait and see.  
**

 **Like I said earlier, big thing coming up in Chapter Nine. I was considering putting it off but it's kind of important and if I don't do it know, I may never do it at all.  
**

 **Watched Zootropolis (or Zootopia or whatever it is) today. Good film. Liked Nick.  
**

 **And yes, Ash Cloud is a pun - completely accidental, I assure you, didn't realise until I wrote it, I kid you not.  
**

 **I found my funeral song - RWBY's Cold (1:57 length so yeah) and it's fucking feelsy man!  
**

 **I had fun writing this chapter, and it took three days again. I am on fire!  
**

 **So yeah.  
**

 **I have this big ass journal which people think is heavy but it's really not and when I was writing Chapter Three, I planned scenes.  
**

 **It doesn't have Shadow x Zane (Shane? Zadow? I like Shane, and perhaps IcyHeart because Shadow used to be a bit of a jerk with an ice cold heart? Naming shit is hard - I say shit because I mean fanfictions, fanart, OCs, shippings, etc. as well) or Beatrix or Ezekiel or whatever else because I hadn't planned them, they were little 'I need to fill this gap, what should I do now?' things, last minute, but surprisingly they didn't fuck up the story.  
**

 **I used that book for Jay's kid scene, the voice attempting to lure Kai to suicide and the scene with Nadakhan.  
**

 **I'd say more but they contain spoilers - as in, who died and who's the antagonist and the fate of all the characters.  
**

 **Yeah.  
**

 **If you didn't get the pun, Fire Master says it's getting hot.  
**

 **It's stupid.  
**

 **If you're wondering when KaiNeuro will become canon:  
**

 **Soon, readers, soon.  
**

 **That is IF it becomes canon.  
**

 **Well it kind of already is since Kai obviously has feelings for Neuro, it was pointed out last chapter.  
**

 **But what about our sweet little telepath?  
**

 **Anyways, should the story be called A Small Soul (ASS - I fucking love that) or When the Darkness Comes (WDC)? Tell me in the reviews.  
**

 **Good day to you all and enjoy your life.  
**


	9. Reasons to Live, Reasons to Die

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews.**

 **This is Ezekiel and Beatrix centric, just saying, but it's important to the plot. Kind of.**

 **There are mentions of abuse, rape, stuff like that (but the rape isn't detailed enough to make this rated M).**

 **Okay, Ezekiel's theme song is Car Radio by Twenty One Pilots. Or Can You Feel My Heart by Bring Me the Horizon. Or Migraine by** **Twenty One Pilots.**

 **DAMN IT WHY DO THEY ALL REPRESENT HIM?!**

 **Fuck it, he had three theme songs like the antagonist (except he has two). I can't be bothered to choose. Unless you guys listen to them and help me choose, but last time I asked for help I didn't receive so... Seriously, I chose three characters' theme songs without assistance - not even my friend.  
**

 **A lot of characters still need theme songs! Please help me with that!**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy!**

* * *

It was a long time ago. Before either Ezekiel or Beatrix had been born, fifteen years before.

A young woman, called Rae, engaged and healthy, happy and sweet, timid and faithful, with penny brown hair, cinnamon brown eyes and fair skin, was raped.

She had reported an appearance - sherry red hair and shamrock green eyes with pale skin. His hair had been swept in a fringe, and her partner, Aaron who had toffee blonde hair, artic blue eyes and tan skin, was very angry at the events. A man with that appearance was never found, and the case was dropped to her partner's dismay.

Since she refused to get rid of the child (there was no possible way either), she gave birth to a beautiful girl, who would grow up with penny brown hair but the shamrock green eyes of her rapist. Aaron hated that, and held it against the girl, who'd been named Valancia long after Rae and Aaron's wedding.

Then, fifteen years later, yet again, Rae was raped, by the same man, and gave birth to a boy, but died. Aaron was livid. He named the boy Ezekiel.

When Ezekiel was two, Aaron wed a beautiful maiden of the name Lucia (leather black hair, silver grey eyes and tan skin), who later persuaded him to punish the children, saying they were children of scum, and that the boy had killed his lover. Aaron fell into her trap, and Valancia protected her little brother from the pain they inflicted on her and attempted to inflict on him.

Three years later, when she was twenty and he five, since he had shown an interest in felines, she bought him one, a beautiful black cat which together they named Rae after their mother.

They say black cats are unlucky, and perhaps they are - five months later, Aaron shot Valancia through her skull and Ezekiel was left with a cat to remind him of her and no protector.

He looked after the cat, assured it wouldn't upset them, did everything they asked and accepted the pain they gave him, but ten years after his sister's demise, for a reason unknown, they drowned the cat and turned into a fur rug.

He had nothing left of her.

In other words, he was alone.

He grew up with their abuse, with their insults, with their pain, and grew up to be a thief, a two faced, lying thief. He talked away the guilt and the shame and eventually began to never stop talking.

When Nadakhan got him, he was tired and he wanted away with the sentence.

He didn't count on becoming literally two faced and mute.

And now he was forced to be quiet.

* * *

Beatrix was an only child, born two years prior Ezekiel, and she was the youngest in her family and of her friends.

After her mother's demise, her father and aunt pushed her a lot, making her exercise daily and making her practice whenever a competition which she was a competitor in came up, and she became very competitive.

She couldn't bear to lose and she became spiteful and easy to anger because of this, but no one put her straight.

She was never good enough in their eyes, never good enough in her own eyes, never good enough in anyone's eyes, and so she worked harder, cheating.  
When they started praising the shotput winner, she could not bear to tell her family the bad news.

He was her saviour, Nadakhan, in a strange sense, as despite her ugly appearance, she was the best.

She would never win a beauty competition.

She was still never good enough.

Then Nadakhan took her in his ship, and she was welcomed.

She was happy.

She was good enough.

* * *

He was pulled down into the ocean, he could hear their cries, their yelling at the stuttering snake for washing the deck so much that he'd slipped and fallen into the ocean, and near where his step father and step mother resided now, but not that they knew that.

He was drowning, having let go of his breath, and as his eyes fell closed, he felt a strong pair of arms grip him and pull him out the water. He didn't move, because when you're unconscious, you don't respond until you wake up, but when he did, he spat out water tiredly and flopped onto his back, opening his eyes.

He jerked back when he saw a man with blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin, scrambling back, eyes fooling him, but then he felt his back hit a wall.

The rest of his crew were currently approaching him, and the man turned out to not be who he thought, for his hair was nearly brown, his eyes were darker and his skin was lighter. "You're welcome." The man muttered before departing, but whether that was because of the apparent rudeness of him or the freaky ass pirate crew approaching the man who nearly drowned.

"You okay, Doubloon?" Dogshank asked, leaning down to inspect the two faced mute.

He nodded in reply, rubbing his neck and coughing up a little more water.

"You need any help?" She offered a hand as Doubloon stood, but he shook his head. "You did kind of nearly drown there."

He glared and walked back to the ship, Clancee assuring him that he'd dried the deck while the others went to get him and now it was safe for walking on.

He'd be lying if he said he wasn't a little more nervous around water afterwards.

* * *

They were fighting against another pirate ship, it was called April's Rose, and one of the pirates, male, human, tiny compared to her, managed to inflict a large cut on her wrist. She yelled and later defeated him but the blood loss made her dizzy.

He caught her somehow, and guided her to the ship while the others fought and took the bandages and wrapped her wrist in them, of course silent and focused, looking up at to make sure she was awake.

"Thanks." She grunted, waiting until he'd pulled his hands away and nodded to say he'd finished then pulling her arm away from him. He stared at her for a while, looking in her eyes. She stared back at him awkwardly.

"What?"

He pointed at her eyes, honey yellow, and gave her a look to question if they were real.

"Oh they're natural all right!" She grinned, showing them off happily. "Got them from my mother's side." The grin left her face. "I don't really remember my mother much, since she died when I was young." A bittersweet smile appeared on her face. "I remember this aroma of cookies though, this beautiful smell of biscuits, and she'd hold me. She... She drowned."

Doubloon listened as the woman continued on talking about her mother, smiling sadly at each tale, secretly wishing he could have had a chance to share happy memories with either of his parents - even his real dad.

"You probably don't want to hear me rambling about my la-" She was surprised when he viciously shook his head. "How come?"

He longed to tell her the real answer, but there was no paper to write on and it was too hard to act out. So he simply shrugged, a quick and easy answer.

She smiled and hugged him. "Thank you. It's... It's been a long time since someone listened to me."

He smiled, hugging her back, glad he was able to be something better than what he'd been told he'd amount to.

* * *

He'd just been smacked around the head by Flintlocke for 'dilly-dallying', and his head was quite literally spinning around and he was stumbling.

He reached out to steady himself and grabbed something.

 _Firm._

His head straightened and he realised what he'd grabbed, somehow.

Dogshank had been crouching to steady him, but, oh no, in his dizzied state, he just had to grab onto her breasts.

With the whole damn crew watching.

Including his captain.

And he was paralysed with fear and then let go slowly. He looked at his hands like he'd created a monster and looked up at her. He trembled slightly and looked at the rest of the crew, Flintlocke and Nadakhan barely stifling laughter, Clancee staring with widened eyes and Monkey Wretch silently staring.

Dogshank raised an eyebrow, and when he looked at his hands in horror, she acted offended. "What's that supposed to mean, hm?" She chuckled a little, and had he been able to talk, he'd be stuttering and apologising and fuck it he was gone.

He spinjitzu-ed his way out and ran down into his cabin, hiding under the covers for what seemed to be an hour, reflecting on the events.

 _He touched her breasts.  
_

 _Her chest.  
_

 _Her well-developed, firm chest, and it scared him that he had felt a tinge of pleasure before the fear and embarassment set in.  
_

 _Oh Nadakhan.  
_

 _Oh Nadakhan oh Nadakhan oh Nadakhan oh Nada-KHAN!_ Someone grabbed his hips from above the cover, Dogshank, he presumed, and he shot up from underneath.

She laughed and looked at him. "It's fine, you were dizzy, your head was spinning, you didn't mean to. I forgive you." He didn't seem to accept the forgiveness, so she sighed, turned him around and gently slapped him, still enough to inflict pain but not enough to hurt him a lot. "Now do you accept my forgiveness?"

He nodded absent-mindedly and attempted slipping out of her grasp, but she gripped him so tightly that he almost fell backwards, but she pulled him up before he hit the ground. For a second, it was as if he was flying (an idea of which he'd never approved of, since it had been proved humans couldn't fly without a tail and most attempts, probably all, ended with the demise of the one who tried it and mourning, plus the idea of flying above ground and water unsettled him greatly) but he was yanked into her lap with unsettled him even more.

If the crew saw this...

"You're very tense, Doubloon."

"..." Of course, she was answered with silence, but he seemed frozen.

She chuckled and sighed. "They'll be coming down in a second, buddy, but not yet. Now, while you're actually on the planet, have you accepted my forgiveness?"

This time he nodded truthfully; she knew this and let him escape this time, and could just hear the rest of the crew talking about random shit, and she couldn't stop a smile appear on her face.

She loved _Misfortune's Keep_ , she loved the crew and she loved him.

* * *

"You'd think being a pirate with a Djinn as your captain would mean pillaging and striking fear into people," Dogshank mused as she and Doubloon sat down on the deck next to him, the male taking a meditative position. "And it wouldn't include learning a dance."

The male nodded during his meditation but didn't open his eyes.

"What's weirder is that Clancee is actually kind of good at singing, as is Flintlocke. I mean you and Monkey Wretch can't really sing coherently, since he's, well, a robot primate and you're... well, you know. And I don't care much for singing." She mused, looking toward the sky. "What do you think about it?"

He simply shrugged.

"Sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head, but something tells me I don't really want to know. Maybe we should find a telepath or something."

Doubloon only now opened his eyes and gestured to his position, eyes glaring into her soul. She understood then that when he was meditating, he wanted peace, and talking was not peace. She decided to go into her own meditative pose and closed her eyes.

It was harder than she imagined, since there was so many things she wanted to say, and then she realised that it was probably the same thing with Doubloon.

How did he manage to put up with that? Did he invent a voice in his head and talk to that? According to Flintlocke, Doubloon, before making that wish, had never stopped talking - yet now he was mute and humble, and she wondered how that had happened.

Was he really just formally insane? If so, she really worried for her and the rest of the crew's safety.

Or did he just learn to deal with it and talk to himself?

She really hoped for the latter.

She felt someone poke her cheek and she opened her eyes to see Monkey Wretch on her shoulder. "Hm?"

He chattered, nowadays they were beginning to understand him and it was something along the lines of 'Doubloon, is sleeping, question mark.' She didn't understand why he said the punctation instead of raising his chatters at exclamation points and raising his pitch at questions - they did it in France.

He meant 'is Doubloon sleeping?' and she shook her head and said he was meditating.

Then as if he'd woken from the dead, his eyes peeled open and he looked at them, nodding a greeting.

"You okay?"

He blinked and stood and walked away from the pair, and she looked to Wretch who simply shrugged. She stood up as well and followed him to the deck.

What was going on inside his head?

* * *

He looked up at her, re-positioning his burgundy beret on his head as she looked at the state of the city they'd once terrorised themselves. "So," He began to say, looking at the one he knew as Dogshank. "We wake up, human and the same age we were when Nadakhan changed us, with memories of something that apparently never happened, and what's better is that we wake up in an apocalypse with our former enemies saving our asses."

She nodded, watching as a white clad person iced, quite literally, another robot, except this robot was of a different make and seemingly more modern, and a red clad teenager burn the modern robots to a melting pulp with burning hands.

A blue clad teen was whacking them with nunchucks and she found that somewhat hilarious. She'd continue watching but then a robot shot one of them, and the red clad one was kneeling beside them.

She couldn't make out genders or voices or words since they were too far away.

"What do you think's gonna happen to them, Doubloon?"

"I... I don't know..." He hummed in thought, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "Hopefully nothing too bad..." His eye caught a shadow and he turned to see, only seeing what looked like a child with a gun and sword, grey clothing and white and black hair. He frowned and went to stand and follow, but she grabbed his wrist. "Dogshank, what are you doing?"

"We should get back to our shelter, buddy, I can see robots coming up." She nodded to over her shoulder, looking back as well.

He gave a grunt and a nod before standing and taking his blade into hand and shooting at them with the attached gun.

He ran out of ammo and it was then Beatrix pulled out her handbag.

Her handbag turned into a machine gun.

The bullets cut through the enemy robots like a knife through butter - no, like a finger through water or syrup perhaps - and there was an electric, metal mess on the floor, and she smiled back at him like she'd just made him a birthday cake.

He stared at her, vowing to never piss her off, and she took his hand in into her own and they rushed back to their shelter.

* * *

 _He saw a black clad teen, male, approaching the child he'd seen earlier. "Hey. What do you think you're doing?"  
_

 _The child, male, turned around (and something told him that he was not ten like he'd first thought, but older - fourteen maybe) and grinned at the other teen. "Long time no see, hm? Sorry, but I have to make my money somehow, and if I have to kill people, so be it."  
_

 _"You're only helping his cause!" The black clad male snapped back, pulling out a weapon, daggers and a scythe?  
_

 _"I'm only doing what people ask of me!" The assassin, what he presumed the male was, also took out his sword, it glinting in the moon's light as he took a stance. "Or I'm the punisher of those who indirectly ask. Like you." He leapt forward, only for the other male to kick him back and to the side, jumping up and going to hit him.  
_

 _The assassin rolled out of the way and dashed forward, sword ready to meet flesh, but his face made contact with the fist of the other male and then he was kicked in the stomach. With a grunt, he was sent flying, sword flying into a wooden telephone pole and stabbing itself into it. He gave a groan and took out his pistol and began shooting, the other male dodging them by leaps and ducks and somehow deflected them with his scythe, with each dodge and deflect he stepped toward the assassin.  
_

 _He swung the edge of his scythe into the assassin's head, and then decided what to do with him. He whacked him around the head and left him to the hospital.  
_

 _Standing not too far away was a woman, with cotton white hair that flowed like waves to her knees and graphite grey eyes. She wore a dress similar to a laboratory's subject gown, white and the skirt part dancing in the wind. Her eyes began bleeding, the blood dark against her pale skin. One hand reached out toward him and the other slowly lifted from the side of her hand to the sky in a vertical line.  
_

 _A man with tawny brown hair, red amber eyes and fair skin walked toward her, his right hand holding the left hand of another woman, who had ebony black hair, cerulean blue eyes and fair skin too. Both were reaching up like the other women, and he was in a blacksmith's clothes and she was dressed in a morgue gown. Blood gushed out of their eyes too.  
_

 _All three suddenly appeared in his face, and in an eerie voice, all three whispered, "Save our sons."_

He sat up in his bed, gasping and sweating, shaking like a leaf. The bed was wet and he sighed, getting out of bed and putting on his clothes. She woke up and sighed, helping him. "Go get washed, I'll sort it."

Embarrassed, he took a bath - the water in the shower hit him too hard for his liking and it was so nice to lay back...

He might have laid back too far and felt his head go under and he shot back up and gasped. He drained the tub and got dressed quickly after drying himself off, his shirt having landed in the sink (this happened a lot) and he ran shirtless into their room - it didn't matter that they shared a room, at least not to them - and put on another. She was replacing his sheet at that point, and she sighed.

"What happened?"

"I... I don't know... I fell asleep and I had this... nightmare... It was weird. I woke up and... well yeah..."

"Hm." Dogshank finished the job and looked up at him. "I'm sure it's just a one time thing." She handed him his beret which resided on the side with a small smile. He went to grab it but she lifted it out of his grip last minute, teasing smile on her face, and he groaned.

They practically danced around the room, his beret in her hand just out of reach and he sighed and tripped her up with his foot and she fell onto the bed, beret falling discarded and he fell due to their feet being interlocked. They fell atop each other and burst out laughing.

Their laughter died away and he scrambled off her. She grabbed his beret and placed on his head.

She fought off the urge to kiss him.

He fought off the urge to kiss her.

* * *

It was present day, they were dating now, and they were sat at the café Shadow and Zane had sat at, at the tables they'd sat at, with the same loved-up look they'd had. Shadow sat on a table behind Ezekiel, hands clasped in deep thought, but what he was thinking about was a mystery.

They'd made the mistake of not scouting the area, but it wasn't their fault to an extent, and as they sat, Beatrix stated she thought she heard someone yelling, but he waved it off.

They heard Kai yell in warning, but...

Too late.

A bullet pierced her skull and she fell on the table dead.

Ezekiel stared in horror, memories stored deep down being unearthed.

 _Five, sister, death by bullet in head, step-parents.  
_

 _Twenty-three, partner, death by bullet in head, robot._

Kai gave a yell of anger and sliced through the robot, and when the sword was swiped away, he burnt through the drone with his pyrokinesis, and when it fell, still melting, he saw her carcass and the tears gathering in her partner's eyes. He didn't say anything, just stood there, trembling, also remembering something.

Neuro ran into the robots behind Kai, stabbing and slashing, yelling, as if he'd had practice, and when they were gone, he turned.

Ezekiel stood up, hands trembling, her head bleeding out.

He let out a whimper of emotional pain, and Neuro approached him.

"Ezekiel... I... I'm sorry..."

There was no response; Ezekiel ran past him and past the frozen Kai. He heard two join them, presumably Shadow and he wasn't sure of the fourth person.

 _I never felt that it was wise to wish too much..._

His feet tapped the ground, he was sprinting, and he knew he was never going to be alone again...

 _To dream too big would only lead to being crushed..._

He was alone now, at that precise moments and for the next few moments, but he could almost hear their voices, calling him.

 _Then I met you, you weren't afraid of anything..._

People could and would call him crazy, but you can't call a man with burdens crazy because burdens would catch up on him, and now was the time he would finally truly be joyful...

 _You taught me how to leave the ground, to use my wings..._

He whimpered as he fell to the ground onto his hands and onto his knees, panting, but still happy that he was going to see them both again...

 _I never thought a hero would ever come my way..._

He looked back silently, tears in his eyes as he blurrily saw they were all male, and she was not in the crowd, but calling him.

 _But more than that, I never thought you'd be taken away..._

He nodded to himself quietly, taking a deep breath and pulling out his weapon, placing it on his arm with silence that championed those hundreds of years of silence on _Misfortune's Keep.  
_

 _Now it's cold without you here..._

He could just hear her, whispering in his ear, the same words she'd uttered to him when he was five.

 _It's like winter lasts all year..._

He could just feel her, her hand on his shoulder, lips on his own, and he could feel her nodding to him.

 _But your star's still in the sky..._

It was night, and he looked up, seeing the beautiful constellations, and two stars that shone most of all, and it made him sob once loudly.

 _So I won't say goodbye..._

"DON'T DO IT! EZEKIEL, DON'T DO IT, PLEASE! N-"

 _I don't have to say goodbye..._

Bang. The bullet pierced his head, he fell on his side, dead.

"NO! NO, NO, NO, NO, no, no, n-" Neuro broke down crying, Kai pulling him into his chest and rubbing his back soothingly, burying his own head into Neuro's head.

Shadow pulled his hands to his face and looked at the fourth person.

Clancee had seen his two teammates die... His mission was impossible.

He looked up and sighed.

Three stars shone brightly in the night sky, and it brought a sad smile to his face.

At least Doubloon and Dogshank were happy.

* * *

Clancee was their new housemate, Shadow living with Karloff (he'd offered Neuro to come back, but Neuro denied the offer), and as soon as they returned back, Neuro got changed into his night clothes, ate some of his dinner and fell asleep in his sleeping bag.

"You can borrow mine for tonight, Clancee... I'm not tired."

Clancee wanted to argue but Kai glared at him and he reluctantly stepped into the sleeping bag and eventually fell asleep.

Kai sat at the dinner table, hands massaging his face, elbows on the table, and sighed.

He clasped his hands together and rested his chin on them, and looked up at the ceiling.

Beatrix and Ezekiel were dead.

That's two more people he couldn't save.

Tears blurred his face and he couldn't stop them from pouring down as he sobbed. He lifted a hand to muffle his sobs so the others wouldn't make up, the tears flowing down. He covered his eyes with his palms and continued crying.

Why did everyone around him die?

And why could he never save them?

* * *

 **A/N: I killed Ezekiel and Beatrix. I can already hear you at the door. Please don't kill me.  
**

 **Anyway, despite what you may think, I didn't kill them off for shits and giggles.  
**

 **I killed them so Neuro, who has only seen someone who has died, can understand that horrible feeling of losing someone and seeing them die.  
**

 **It's also so that he, and hopefully you guys, will realise that this fanfiction (or in his case, the apocalypse) will contain character death as well as shipping and people will die.  
**

 **If you can't handle that, I suggest you stop reading from here on out, because I can go depressing.  
**

 **Anyway, I'm sorry, NerdyJD, I know Ezekiel was your favourite, and I killed him, but his death wasn't so I could feast on your tears (sorry, had to say it).  
**

 **You have Clancee now... I guess that's good?  
**

 **His design is a tiny bit different than in the show. He's still a snake, of course but he is a little differently designed.  
**

 **The song used in Ezekiel's death scene is RWBY's Cold, and Beatrix's weapon is RWBY's Coco's weapon.  
**

 **As are her sunglasses and Ezekiel's beret.  
**

 **This fanfiction is stock full of references.  
**

 **It'll probably end up having Supernatural and Gravity Falls and maybe even The Librarians references.  
**

 **...  
**

 **I should do that.  
**

 **The reasons I had Ezekiel and Beatrix's backstories and their memories were:  
**

 **1\. I wasn't happy with how very little Beatriel/SilentWinnershipping there was in previous chapters, since the majority of their scenes were from Ezekiel's POV and most of the time he was under the influence of those DAMN PILLS.  
**

 **2\. You see their beginnings and ends. It's more feelsy that way.  
**

 **You have full permission to scream at me in the reviews.  
**

 **I have to admit, I did a kind of pretty job for my atrocious writing skills.  
**

 **Never mind, it's crap.  
**

 **Haha I have no self-esteem.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you... Well, not enjoyed, since two characters died and Kai was in tears. Neuro cried, dammit, why would you enjoy it?!  
**

 **I kinda liked writing it, but I'm a sadist.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you liked how the chapter was written (XD) and please review.  
**

 **But for all the characters in this, please give me ideas for theme songs! PLEASE.  
**

 **Bye, I guess?  
**


	10. Waste Not, Want Not

**A/N: Ugh, writer's block is a bitch.**

 **I have lots planned, I assure you, but it's near the END. UGH. MY BRAIN HATES ME. UGGGGH.**

 **The only reason I started writing this is because I listened to some songs (Bruises and Bitemarks, Monster, Where the Lonely Ones Roam and several others, in Nightcore. Most of them are on my playlist called Eh. If you're interested, tell me, you probably won't though) and they gave me inspiration - especially Bruises and Bitemarks.**

 **I promise, I will try to not kill people in this chapter. Clancee's design is finally showed! Whoo!**

 **I found out that KaiNeuro is Fevershipping so yeah. FEVERSHIPPING.**

 **I found two pieces of fanart for it. Damn it Neuro why you so sexy? XD**

 **According to a Tumblr user, Neuro looks, quote, 'like an evil Disney character', end quote. You got to admit, he does.**

 **Yes, I searched up on Tumblr 'ninjago neuro'. Yes, I found a de-aged Neuro picture. No, I loved it. It was cute. LISTEN TO ME** **RAMBLE!**

 **The reason I took so long updating will be at the end, promise.**

 **Anyway, thanks for the reviews (ponygirl009, I have this to say to you: Why you no care?! [about Ezekiel and Beatrix's death] Joking, please, don't kill me) and enjoy this shitty chapter!**

* * *

Zane looked up slowly as his captor entered, he feared the smirk that they wore, the click of their shoes tap-tap-tapping the floor slowly (three seconds between each), the chuckle that echoed and hurt his ears and the hands that gripped his collar, pulled him toward his captor's face.

Their breath was cold and uninviting on his face, he felt his heartbeat and breath quicken. They hushed his breaths by placing their lips on his and pushed his chest down. They straddled him and continued sucking the life out of him and Zane tried to get him off but then their hands curled around his neck and strangled him.

They pulled their lips off of his own and throttled him, eyes widening with insane glee and a grin that showed off his madness appearing on his face as Zane choked in agony and begged him to stop.

The Nindroid reached up, grabbed his captor's head and pulled it toward him and began to passionately kissing him, the only way they'd understand that he was begging for his life and that they could do what they wished. The hands on his neck faded and came onto his face and tightly gripped his cheeks.

He wanted Shadow... He lusted for Shadow... He pretended it was Shadow... Anything to take the guilt away... Why was this happening, and to him?

He murmured for them to stop, hoping it was too quiet.

The hands appeared at his neck, anxiety rushed through him, and in a cold and chilling voice that sent shivers down his spine, they whispered, "Do you want me to stop? Because I can." With emphasis on 'can', the hands tightened.

He whimpered out, "No." A grin spread across the terrifying face of them.

"That's what I thought..." They continued on and Zane felt like he was a traitor.

Shadow...

* * *

Shadow stifled a sigh. Why was no one trying to look for Zane? Weren't they worried or scared for his life, or had they already given up?

Who even knew of his disappearance?

He sat up in his old bed that night and, after getting up but not bothering to turn the light on, collected his and some of Karloff's weapons, some food and an old, worn picture of life prior the apocalypse and his eyes watered.

Griffin had Neuro on his shoulders, but the telepath was looking somewhat amused at this, Shadow was recording it and Karloff (who'd gotten a nice stranger to take the photo) was laughing. They'd been in a certain position, but Griffin had swept Neuro up onto his shoulders and Shadow really couldn't resist.

He remembered the day clearly - it was five days before the first apocalypse...

A year before Griffin died.

He stood frozen as he gazed wistfully but then the lights switched on and Karloff was there in an instant.

"What Shadow d-" He gazed at the picture, and Shadow knew he shared the pain of losing two little brothers, and one was never coming back.

What if he'd died on the search for his boyfriend? Karloff would be alone again and the wounds would be opened. Karloff needed him and Neuro, despite the telepath living with Kai, alive. He allowed Karloff to pull him into a hug, burying his head into Karloff's chest. He squeezed his eyes shut in a futile attempt to at least put off the tears building up in them, but they dribbled down his cheeks nonetheless.

"Why Shadow up?" Karloff whispered quietly, making the Master of Shadow open his eyes and look up.

"I... Zane... He's uh... Zane's been gone for a while... He just disappeared and no one seems to care! I was going to see if I could find him..."

"Why Zane matter to you so much? When you first met, you not like him much. Why now?"

"He's..." He bit his lip. "He's kind of my boyfriend."

Karloff looked down at Shadow, face void of emotion, and Shadow'd be lying if he said he wasn't scared of how Karloff would react.

"What?"

With a slight stammer, he repeated the sentence, and Karloff smiled and nodded understandingly. "That fine with Karloff."

"What?" Shadow stared up, slightly confused but relieved at the acceptance.

"Karloff fine with that. Shadow happy, Karloff happy." He beamed at Shadow who smiled softly back. "Karloff would help but..." He gestured to the weapons and kitchen. "Karloff would ask Ezekiel and Beatrix but..."

It had been a week since Beatrix's death and Ezekiel's suicide and it was still hurting Kai and Neuro.

Neuro had been good friends with them and now they were gone.

Kai, after the incident, was affected greatly by death, even strangers'.

In a way, it was calming to know they were possibly happier - but Karloff had become friends with them, but Beatrix could lose her temper frequently, like she did when Neuro and Kai met them.

"Anyway, Karloff got to make weapon for Neuro." Karloff released Shadow and, despite the dark sky and the shining stars, he looked at the design, hummed in thought and began to adjust it to make it possible to design and perhaps even a smidge easier or harder. He wanted the weapon to be perfect for his youngest brother.

"I was thinking about getting Ronin and Ash and maybe some of the other Elemental Masters to come help me."

"You think Zane captured by... you know?" Karloff paused and turned to look to at his younger brother.

Shadow looked at the ground. "I can't think of anyone else." He shook his head. "Karloff, why didn't you design and make Neuro's weapon before?"

"Too much business, no time, too tired, someone died... Many reasons."

"Oh." He thought of a question but discarded it in his mind and forced a smile. "What do you think Griffin would say if he were here?"

Karloff sported a sad smile as he worked. "Griffin probably joke and make Karloff laugh... He fight robots without fear and laugh at death..." He choked down a sob.

Shadow apologised for bringing it up and hugged the taller man.

"Shadow no worry." Karloff forced a painful smile and tapped Shadow's nose. "Shadow worry about Zane, not Karloff." His grin was forced and pained and tears appeared at his eyes but he tried to hide them.

"... Okay..." Shadow sadly agreed, packing clothes, food, water, weapons but leaving the photograph with Karloff. "I'll be back soon, try not to die." There was no joking in the last four words, just utter seriousness, Shadow was almost begging him to stay alive.

Karloff nodded. "Try stay alive too." He said that in a serious tone as well.

He wasn't heard as the door shut before he could finish the sentence. He heard the footsteps on the stairs and he watched from the window, a smile gracing his features before falling into a frown as he set to work on the weapon.

"I hope Shadow succeeds..."

* * *

 _"You weren't able to save them."  
_

 _Kai was standing outside a field, the sun shining, birds tweeting and flowers dancing in the cherry scented wind. He breathed it in, a sigh fluttering from his mouth, and he stepped into the field, Neuro standing, waiting, on the other side.  
_

 _"You're never able to save them."  
_

 _The sun shot down, the sky becoming as dark as Kai's thoughts, the birds screeching in pain and fear as they fell dead, the flowers wilting and everything in the field going to shit.  
_

 _His father, his mother, everyone he'd known and died and everyone he'd tried to save and died, they were all there.  
_

 _So was the leader.  
_

 _And Neuro was standing at the front of them, just out of reach.  
_

 _"You'll never live to get him."_

Kai shot up from his sleeping bag in a cold sweat and it took him a second to gather his breath. He yawned and looked at the time.

"Only four am? Fuck." He sighed and got out of bed, careful not to disturb Neuro or Clancee. He made himself some food and ate it, skimming through the recently made newspaper. "Blah, blah, blah... All of it's shit..."

He slammed it down and ran a hand through his hair. He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, to see a note in Neuro's handwriting.

It read:

 _Kai, I found some hair gel! It's in the cupboard, top shelf, third along from the left! - Neuro x_

A... kiss at the end? Kai's face burned red at the end, but absentmindedly ripped off the note and opened the cupboard. Like the note said, there was the hair gel, and a small smile appeared on his face as he picked up the container and gazed down at it.

The image of him holding their dying leader flashed into his mind, he dropped the bottle and stumbled back, falling into the bath tub with a yell, hitting his head on the wall. He struggled to stand up, the headache dizzying him and making it hard to do so. He heard someone running in and felt arms help him up. Once the dizziness faded, he saw Clancee, looking up worried.

"Are you okay? I heard the thud. Neuro woke up to, but I made him go back to sleep by telling him I'll see."

"I'm fine Clancee... Just stumbled." Kai stood up, mumbling, "Where's the hair gel...?"

Clancee forced him to sit down like a child and picked up the hair gel and gently placed it into his hand silently. He allowed Kai to gel his hair into the typical spikes and made sure he didn't stumble or fall or get hurt, holding the bottle when Kai asked him and squirted gel into his hand when asked, all with no complain and a happy smile on his face as he remembered the happy times he spent with his crew.

He remembered his mission and then knew it was impossible because two were dead...

The other two were Nadakhan knows where.

He sighed and looked at Kai, who was finishing up gelling his hair, and he smiled softly. He was about to say something but the door opened and Neuro was standing at the door. "What are you doing?"

"I couldn't sleep. Why's Kai up?"

"Couldn't sleep either, nugget."

"Don't call me nugget." Neuro huffed and puffed his cheeks out, though he couldn't resist a small smile. "I see you've gelled your hair into spikes."

"Yeah, my old hairstyle. Nya, before the apocalypse, used to help me when we were younger. Course, I can do it myself now."

"Where is she now?"

"... I don't know." Kai admitted, standing up to wash his hands. "I didn't see much of her for a while after the incident. Must have been trying to get her head around it. She was really shaken up, she didn't even bid me farewell when I left." Kai sighed. "I mean it was her-"

 _Their hands on his neck, throttling him, tears running down both his own and their cheeks as they both tried to cope but both failed, and he could feel the others' hands on his hips trying to pull him away from them and them away from him._

He stumbled back, nearly falling over again and only staying upright by Clancee catching him. Neuro was concerned, but the snake told him to go downstairs, protect the door and to grab his sword. With great reluctance, the Master of the Mind agreed and hurried downstairs to do as he'd been asked.

"Kai, you okay?"

The Fire Master didn't reply, balancing him self, admiring the spikes in his hair and walking out after Neuro with not so much as a sad glance.

The snake followed him out and looked down at his artifical leg with a thoughtful look on his face.

What was once a peg leg was now an apparatus of wire and metal. It was cool - it shot out a sword a handle shorter than his leg from the side so he could grab it (he had practice) and from the sole bullets could be shot.

Cleverly made, it was similar to Skylor's, not that he knew that, but it worked as a prosthetic too, whereas hers were mere boots she could remove when she pleased.

He had picked up Ezekiel's beret and his weapon and Beatrix's weapon and sunglasses. The snake had discovered little compartments in the beret, little slits that circled the hat and held little knives in each one. He discovered you could either take them out and stab at the enemy or pull on the thread atop the beret which would cause the knives to poke out and throw it or thrust it into their weak points.

It was a clever little contraption, he had to admit that, but it seemed weak and perhaps a last resort. Who knew how long the late Sky Pirate had owned it, and where had it come from before - if he didn't make it, who did?

It was clear Beatrix's handbag was newly made, as was Ezekiel's weapon, since they used more recent guns in them and were very complex. They were at least a similar style of where his own weapon came from, and even had a little signature in the form of a _K_ , with curls on the ends.

This was definitely the work of Karloff. That wasn't cheap.

Hopefully they wouldn't mind him raiding their base at a later time.

"I think it's clear." Neuro broke into his thoughts, and the snake looked up with a noise of confusion. "The coast's clear."

"Why do you say that?"

"Kai wants to go find Garmadon and Clouse."

"Who?"

There was a quick description of the two, Clouse's including 'fucking ponytail man with no greys due to shitty sorcery' and 'the fucktard who gives more shits than he appears to'. Neuro rolled his eyes at that remark.

"Shut up, Spikey."

"... You didn't."

"I did."

"You gave me a nickname." Kai chuckled and picked Neuro up and swung him around. "Aw, little Neuro's growing up!"

"Kai!" Neuro yelled with slight amusement and started thumping Kai's chest.

Clancee smiled as Kai smiled and set the younger teen down before the Fire Master ruffled his hair and hugged him.

He didn't know much about either of the humans, but he was pretty sure Kai had feelings for Neuro.

Neuro was really missing out on something amazing.

* * *

"Is that you?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"Come in, quick, don't let anyone see you. He'll have my head off if he sees you."

"You mean your boss?"

"Shut it." He pressed his lips against his lover's, hands creeping around his head and pulling him in, his lover doing the same thing. They danced around the room, lips never pulling apart, until they collapsed onto his bed.

He looked down into the flint grey eyes of his boyfriend, and he smiled and let his worries go.

"See Ronin... I knew you'd loosen up." His boyfriend cooed, pulling the covers over them.

Ronin watched his boyfriend pull off his own shirt, he was a little tentative at first, but he was assured it was only the shirts, they weren't going anything past kissing, and then he was more compliant.

His boyfriend's chest was so smooth against his own, and as they made out, he found his hands rubbing his boyfriend's back and he breathed in the aroma of his boyfriend's deodrant, it was spicy like curry yet somehow spelt like cherry blossoms, and it reminded him of he-

He pulled away immediately, making a groan of pleaing him to stop.

"What's wrong? Have I hurt you?"

"No... You haven't. It's just... you know."

"Her? Sweetie, I'm sorry about her but you're happy now."

Ronin sat up and ran his hands over his face with a depressed sigh.

 _She was there, blood-soaked, and although it never happened, it felt so real as he held her, and she was drowning in blood and he pressed his lips onto hers; he was giving her a beautiful final moment which she would never truly have.  
_

"Ronin? Baby, you okay?"

He was resting in his boyfriend's arms, and from the looks (and sounds) of it, he'd just suffered from a panic attack upon merely imagining it, and he flopped against his boyfriend's chest, closing his eyes in weariness.

Ronin allowed his boyfriend to run his hands through his hair.

"Ash?"

"Hm?"

"Don't die on me..."

"I promise." Ash kissed Ronin' head gently as the slightly older male fell asleep.

* * *

She looked up with terror in her eyes as he opened the door, light creeping into the room as the room was lacking light - she'd been in the darkness for an hour - and she squinted and struggled against her binds and gags, tears in her eyes.

He just laughed at her patheticness, pushing her onto the bed roughly and forcing her to lay down. "I don't think you know what kind of trouble you've got yourself into..." His mouth was bent into a one-sided smirking smile, his teeth glinting in the new light as his eyes boasted insanity. "I suppose I'll have to show you."

He pulled the covers over them both.

An hour passed, she was no longer bound or gagged and he slept beside her. She was lying in shock, hands open on her mildly developed chest and tears in her eyes. She turned onto her side to face away from him and began crying into her pillow.

In mere seconds, an arm was around her and she was forced to be near him. "Oh, don't cry. That'll only make the pain worse for you... and make me more insane."

He forced her onto her back, laid himself atop her and wiped her eyes, his chest pressing harshly against hers and she could feel herself being crushed. She let out a little whimper as he wiped her tears away, a mockingly insane smile on his face. A minute passed and he flopped beside her and he fell asleep, softly murmuring a name that was not hers.

She turned onto her side and fell asleep, the sight of both their clothes, every item, on the floor in sight, and she fell asleep in emotional pain.

* * *

"I know you like him." Clancee slithered up to Kai and said it loudly but not so loudly that Neuro could hear.

Kai yelped and then glared at him. "Don't fucking do that!" A blush then gathered on his face at the snake's correct assumption. "No I don't..."

"You do. You really do."

"... Is it that obvious?"

"Yep." Clancee smiled teasingly. "Why don't you just ask him?"

"He's probably not interested in me." Kai sighed, but Clancee rolled his eyes.

"Whatcha talking about?" Neuro walked over, curious.

"Nothing you'd care about." Kai tapped his nose teasingly. "Now shoo."

Neuro huffed and walked away, lying down on the floor, humming to himself. He could hear Clancee and Kai muttering quietly, and could feel their eyes burning into his forehead, and he huffed.

He closed his eyes and let his mind wander, subconsciously listening to their conversation without hearing the words and wondering what was going through their heads.

 _... can't tell Neuro...  
_

 _Bloody idiot, he...  
_

 _I'm so sorry...  
_

 _... Kai should just..._

He opened his eyes in a flash, frowning.

Did he just...

No. He can't of.

He read their minds... Three words, yes, but still he read Kai and Clancee's minds.

He relaxed again and did the same as before.

 _Leave me alone...  
_

 _He doesn't know...  
_

 _I miss them...  
_

 _... least they're happier...  
_ He groaned in pain and this brought him out of his state; he sat up and looked around. Kai and Clancee were still talking but it was as if he'd become deaf and the only noise he could hear was a continuous ringing in his ears. It faded once he stood though and he stumbled over to the table and he made a sandwich for himself.

He ate silently, each time he moved his jaw down onto the sandwich he felt it and it was as if concentrating on it exaggerated each chomp.

He absent-mindedly gazed at the conversing Kai and Clancee, head nodding gently with each chew.

He finished his food with a large gulp, and at that moment, the other two went quiet.

At that moment, the door knocked. Neuro stood up to answer it but Kai beat him to it and opened it.

Shadow was standing at the door, his weapons on his hand. Kai eyed them jealously.

Shadow's weapon was claws on a fingerless metal glove that were bent slightly at the end, and they were detachable.

He was wearing a porpoise grey jacket and pewter grey tracksuit trousers with flint trainers. He wore a belt with a pistol and dagger in it, and upon his face was a mask covering his mouth and nose. He pulled it down to smile at the ex Fire Ninja and nodded a greeting to his younger brother and the snake. "I'm gonna be outta town for a while, Karloff's gonna be manning the store and maybe you guys should shoot around and offer him a hand." He leant toward Kai and whispered, "He's making nugget's weapon so you better not go too soon." He pulled away.

"Where are you going?" Neuro asked, pushing Kai away gently and leaning on the door frame.

"I'm going to find your Nindroid pal. Let's just say we're close pals." He winked at Neuro. "Oh, and baby bro?"

Neuro scowled and growled at the nickname but nodded for him to continue nevertheless.

"We already lost a brother. Don't die on us, capiché?"

"Only if you promise not to either." Neuro smiled at the older one.

"All right, nugget. I promise, do you promise?"

"I promise." Shadow ruffled Neuro's hair. He then hugged Neuro, then took hold of his cheeks and kissed his forehead.

"Stay safe."

Neuro didn't respond, he just watched Shadow leave silently without moving. He stood still until Kai shut the door and then only looked up.

"What do we do now?" Neuro asked, looking to the older one, respect in his eyes as he smirked up at him.

"Neuro... we need to talk." Kai took Neuro's hand and gripped it tightly. He pulled Neuro away from the door and into a secluded area upstairs.

"Oh? About what?"

"Neuro..."

"Yes Kai?"

"I..."

* * *

 _He dragged his demons along the floor, nearly void of emotion, pain and terror and depression weighing him down like a ball and chain.  
_

 _Their leader held the key, and they were lost, and until he found them, he'd never be free.  
_

 _Or that's what he'd at first thought.  
_

 _And then, like an angel from Hell, the assassin was attacked - he knew who it was who'd attacked him but refused to mention that accidental_ monster's _name - and then months passed before he worked up the courage to offer him a place to stay._

 _The assassin accepted and he moved in a mere week later and now they were here._

 _But the assassin had caused so much pain and now he was the healer of his emotional pain and trauma._

 _The very day the assassin came to stay, Kai'd sworn to never let him know the truth._

 _Why hurt someone by being honest when you could sugarcoat it and save them from a fate you'd only let yourself face?_

 _He wasn't able to save their leader._

 _But he can sure as hell save Neuro._

* * *

Silence had fallen upon them as they stared at each other, and it was as if you'd reunited brothers who despised each other.

She stared on at the man on the other male's side, and she saw the emptiness that had fallen upon him after his departure in his eyes, and he saw the fear that surviving out on the road had brought on, and all four of them were twitching and silent, the two males emotionless and she and the other male emotional.

"It's been so long."

"You've become killers, just like him." He, the younger, taller male, stated, emptily glaring at the even younger male.

"You've become monsters, like him too." The younger, slightly shorter male retorted, glaring at the other, clenching his fists.

She released the sigh she'd suppressed for a long time and stepped out. "We're all monsters, but don't any of you remember where we began? We began together, a family, and we lost and it tore us apart. We've become distorted version of ourselves and only a reunion can heal us."

The elder male nodded gravely, but said nothing. He looked to his student.

"I'm not sure if we can just reunite and everything will be fine. Think of how many people have died and all the pain, all the trauma, the depression and the anxiety people are avoiding by trying to survive. Yes, if we stop the apocalypse, no more people will be killed but they may kill themselves due to their losses." The student pointed out.

Silence fell upon them but then the student picked up his bag. "I don't see why we even bothered to meet, we can never go back to the way we were. I've accepted that, you should too." He walked away, and his master walked off with him.

When the two were out of sight, she began crying softly, and he allowed a tear from his eye.

"Let's go to the city, see if we can't find the others." He offered her a small smile and she accepted it tearfully.

They walked from the spot they'd stood on, and when he looked back, he swore he could see the ghost of their leader.

That hurt. That really hurt.

* * *

 _"I... I love you."_

* * *

 **A/N: So yeah. Hopefully some feels, and you can guess what happened to Skylor.  
**

 **Zane has not been forgotten, Shadow's gone to find him and he's getting some chums to help it.  
**

 **Yes, Kai has confessed his feelings for him to little Nerdo, let's see if they're mutual, eh?  
**

 **Anyway, life rant below, I'll say when life rant is over:  
**

 **If you've kept up with To Those Who Care, you'll know I tried to kill myself twice.  
**

 **Today it's been two weeks since Dad and I argued and that led to me almost killing myself.  
**

 **In two days it'll be a week since my most recent attempt.  
**

 **Joy, eh?  
**

 **My mother's parents are ill, as I write this Mum is visiting them but is due to come back today.  
**

 **My friends and family don't seem to know or understand and my best and I... we've sort of been drifting all over the place. One minute we'll be sitting in silence as we think of what to do and the next we'll be messing around, laughing our asses off. It's hard because she says I'm boring now.  
**

 **My father's mother is in a home, she sort of became abusive. She hit me twice, hit Mum a couple of times and she... well, it's not my business about**

 **Dad's past.  
**

 **It's been hard since now I'm having so many dark moments, on Friday I fell into a really deep one where I could barely feel anything and it lasted forty five of the one hour lesson, and was only pulled out by a story which was funny.  
**

 **I feel less in touch with the world and nearly everything triggers me; I can barely listen to my favourite songs due to them being depressing.  
**

 **Life rant over.  
**

 **This is a question I really want answers for:  
**

 **Which character am I writing best and how can I improve?  
**

 **I've been listening to This is War by 30 Seconds to Mars for a little while (near the end) and it sort of explains the situation in a weird way.  
**

 **I have the exact end in mind. Talking about the end, When the Darkness Comes will have a minimum of twenty chapters and a maximum of thirty and that's not including the tribute chapter. Just thought you might like to know.  
**

 **Shadow's weapons are from... Dynasty Warriors. They're from Zhang He of Wei (He - his name is He, guys - actually existed!). If you want to get an idea of them, search up 'Dynasty Warriors Seven Zhang He weapons', and imagine black gloves.  
**

 **Shadow's weren't made by Karloff, they were made by another blacksmith who will come into this later on.  
**

 **I actually started designing the hierarchy and I have a journal with two pages of scenes for this. I'd show you but it would ruin a lot and I don't think** **I can.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed, please review and if you have friends in this fandom, could you suggest this to them? This is arguably my best fanfiction** **and this fandom is one of the more popular of my fandoms, if that makes sense.**

 **A week and five days. Damn.  
**

 **I took my sweet time with this. Well, about four of those days were me trying to gather ideas for this, so tell me if it feels forced.  
**

 **I guess this is a temporary goodbye.  
**

 **Bye.  
**


	11. World of Truth? No

**A/N: Okay.  
Another song to suit this Kai (WDC Kai) is Chameleon Circuit's Nightmares. Well, the opening verses are about Doctor Who - it is a Doctor Who song - but everything else is so like WDC Kai. Go listen to it?**

 **When you find out how the killer/captor/insane guy is, you'll find out the whole story with names instead of just pronouns and not so many gaps.**

 **This means everything - what happened to cause the apocalypse, how the leader died, what happened afterwards, how Neuro got amnesia, how everyone got their place in the hierarchy, etc.**

 **Just saying. So it may be a while, so please be patient.**

 **For an apocalypse, they have a good living style.**

 **Well, until they die.**

 **Sorry.**

 **Anyway, thanks for the reviews, and I can't say shit because it will ruin the story.**

* * *

 _Silence.  
_

 _He stared at his attacker, fists clenched, breaths slighly quickened, trembling. Tears gathered in his eyes and he watched their next movement.  
_

 _They glared up at him, but a smile was upon their face, eyes shining with a scary spark. "You... You think you're the only one suffering?!" They roared, striking him across the face, nails slashing his cheek. "You aren't! We lost too! Just because you we-"  
_

 _"You're upsetting him!" One of his brothers stepped out in his defence, but he couldn't tell who over the tears and wracking sobs he and his attacker were making.  
_

 _"HE UPSET ME!" The hands appeared around his neck and he felt them push him, or slam him, against the wall and then bash his head and he could feel his consciousness depleting before someone pulled them off.  
_

 _"STOP IT!"  
_

 _"I WISH HE WAS GONE! I WISH HE WAS DEAD!" He heard someone being thrown to the floor and someone storming out, slamming the door and the vibrations hurt his head even more.  
_

 _He curled up and cried.  
_

 _They were gone... Their leader was gone and dead and he couldn't save them and now he was alone.  
_

 _"It'll be fine Kai..." He heard Zane whisper, pulling him up and holding him in his lap.  
_

 _No.  
_

 _Nothing was going to be fine.  
_

 _Nothing was all right.  
_

 _He failed as a Ninja._

 _They were dead._

* * *

He didn't mean to say it, he really didn't mean to, but the confession flew out before he could stop it. Neuro was staring at him with an expression which was changing from confused to... he didn't know what to do.

Clancee was standing behind Neuro, pulling his fist down and mouthing, 'get in'. He would glare or shake his head but he was so scared of mockery or denial.

Neuro didn't smile, that was scary, and without turning around, he calmly said, "Clancee, stop it." He stared at Kai. "You... Love me?"

Kai stammered an explanation, only giving up and nodding when Neuro raised an eyebrow.

He expected laughter, he expected mockery, he expected confusion.

He didn't expect the bloody telepath to squeal happily and kiss his cheek, blushing red and stammering out a confession that was the same as the one he accidentally blurted out.

"Wait... what is happening?" Kai asked with confusion.

"The feeling's mutual." Neuro grinned and giggled like a schoolgirl and hugged him.

"Are we... dating?" Kai looked to the side, remembering the last time he'd dated someone or came close to kissing them - it was well over a year ago now yet he remembered it clear as day. Now the idea of such a thing disgusted him more than before - people changed, he knew that, but to think that he'd want only one person and a guy at that, whereas after the Tournament he'd refuse to consider males as a possible partner.

"I guess so." Neuro hugged him tightly. Kai smiled and hugged him back.

"So..." Kai pulled away. "I'm going to make dinner. Then I, and I alone, am going to visit Karloff and Neuro, Clancee, you up for visiting the infimary and helping out since two of their employees are out of commission for several reasons?" He smiled warmly at his now boyfriend - he loved saying that word - who shrugged and nodded.

"Sure. Might do me some good to help them out." A smile crossed the telepath's face. "What's for tea?"

"Might try a good old pizza."

Neuro frowned. "A what?"

"You don't remember pizza?"

"Amnesia? Remember?" Neuro pointed to his head and huffed, pouting a little.

"Irony," Kai chuckled. "When you're an amnesiac you don't remember..." He shook his head. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure Karloff does pizza. I'll go down to his. You and Clancee could get to know each other a bit better, seeing as you're is the only one who hasn't had previous conversation with him that remembers it." Kai smiled. "Be back in a few. Love you!" He blew a kiss and hurried off.

He calmly walked to Karloff's with a quick pace, the pizza of course not the only thing he was going there for.

He entered with a knock. "Hey, Karloff."

Karloff looked up and smiled, bags under his eyes, and, with a yawn, replied, "Hello Kai."

"You okay?" Kai frowned slightly, gesturing to his eyes. "You got... a little something there, buddy."

Karloff rubbed his eyes and nodded. "Karloff fine. Karloff just wake up early."

"I see..."

Karloff changed the subject. "Karloff think he know why Kai here - weapon, right?"

"Yeah, how's the making going?"

"Good, good. Nearly done." Karloff smiled. "How Neuro?"

"Oh! I meant to tell you - Neuro and I are dating." Kai then shrank away. "You aren't homophobic, right?"

Karloff chuckled and shook his head, continuing with the telepath's future weapon, a smile on his face as he gazed down at the weapon, liking how it was forming into Kai's design. "No, course not. Can't be, not in this Ninjago."

Kai sighed with relief and stepped toward him, wanting to catch a glimpse of the weapon; Karloff, with a smile, covered his eyes, and teasingly tutted and stated, "Uh, uh, uh, no peeking."

Kai laughed. "Karloff, c'mon, I wanna see how good it is."

Karloff rolled his eyes and removed the hand; Kai's amber eyes widened and his mouth morphed into a smile. "He's going to love it! At the moment he has a gun and sword and the weapon Beatrix and Ezekiel bought for half price when his broke and Ezekiel's weapon, but he doesn't like using them because of the bad memories..." He continued talking, clearly happier due to the new relationship he was in, and it pleased Karloff to see Kai so happy.

He'd never forget the two months Kai had spent here after the Fire Ninja had left the Ninja, where Karloff and Shadow and even Neuro for a while (when he wasn't out on a job) had to force-feed him and care for him because Kai just wanted to die so no one would suffer.

Karloff cared too much to let Kai die, but now he wondered if he made a mistake - it was horrible to consider but Kai had been on his weak knees, begging for mercy, not for himself, but for everyone.

He remembered something Kai had said to try and convince him to kill him - it nearly worked:

 _"If you won't do it for the citizens, do it for your brothers. You've lost one... Don't lose them too."_

He looked at Kai and suppressed a sigh - he continued with the weapon, a thoughtful look on his face, but not in the good way.

Techinally, he'd lost Neuro. Heck, Shadow might never come back.

And Griffin, he was either a robot roaming the streets or a robot's corpse left there, unnoticed and certainly staying forever unburied - no one ever was.

"Karloff?" Kai poked him.

"Uh?"

"Can you sell me some pizza? I mean, if you have it that is."

"Course Karloff have pizza!" Karloff forced a smile, walking away from the weapon and going to the kitchen. "How many?"

"Three, I guess."

"Any special toppings?"

"You know what Neuro likes, right?"

"Yup." A simple cheesy pizza with a couple of mushrooms, tomatoes and ham.

"Can one have extra cheese, pepperoni and BBQ sauce? Ooh and a few tomatoes?"

"Done."

"And I'm not sure what Clancee likes so just cheese."

Karloff wrapped up the pizzas for him and shoved them into a carrier bag and handed him the bag. "Usual price be 10.97 but for Kai it 5.48."

Kai looked visibly shocked. "Won't you not have enough money?"

"Karloff be fine." He waved it off, taking the money Kai handed him, smiling gently, before looking back up at Kai. "Kai stay safe. Kai look after Neuro and, if need to, let Neuro look after Kai." Kai nodded, and was about to leave, but Karloff grabbed him by the shoulders and forcefully turned him round. "Karloff mean it, okay?"

"Okay." Kai nodded.

He was pulled into a hug by Karloff, who whispered in his ear, "Please don't die. Please no let Neuro die."

"I promise."

* * *

 _Okay.  
_

 _This was new.  
_

 _"Sensei, Kai's bleeding!"  
_

 _He'd seen his blood before. He'd seen a shitload of blood before.  
_

 _But he'd never seen a shitload of HIS blood before, and now he was emptily gazing into the sky, as if dead, but his mouth was moving to try and make noise, but it was as if he were paralysed.  
_

 _"What happened?" Wu asked, calm despite one of his students near death, looking at Cole who was carrying Kai.  
_

 _"We were so close to defeating him, Sensei! But then one of his minions, he got close to Nya and Kai protected her with his body and told her to run."  
_

 _They'd slit the side of his mouth open and nearly cut off his tongue but they'd soon rendered him unable to yell for help as Nya ran toward the four struggling boys. They'd stabbed through his stomach and he'd began to fade then.  
_

 _Cole had come at that point and he'd attempted to say he was scared, but Cole had knelt down and hushed him, lifting him into his muscular arms and had called off the attack.  
_

 _Sensei hummed in thought before commanding Cole to lay Kai down on the bed and took some Tea. He waved it under Kai's nose and he struggled to stay awake.  
_

 _"Shush... Sleep..."_

* * *

They'd had little conversation, the telepathic amnesiac and the pirate snake, and now Neuro was staring at the clock wistfully.

"Hey, wanna go to Ezekiel and Beatrix's shelter? The beret has a map inside it marking where it is." Clancee offered to the telepath. "We can leave a note to Kai."

"Um... Okay?" Neuro shrugged, writing the note and sticking it on the door.

The two left with the weapons that the two partners had once owned and with their own, Clancee holding the late partners' weapons and Neuro holding the rest. "Shame, isn't it? They were lost too soon."

"Mm hm." Neuro simply replied, checking around the corners and checking he had ammo.

"Here!"

The two looked up at it, it being a two storey house with cerulean blue paint peeling off the front and broken in windows. There was a door that was hanging onto its frame, that was aegean blue, and the carpet, or what was left of it, was apple red with berry red roses as a decal. Clancee took a deep breath and stepped inside, Neuro following.

This was the house of dead people.

This was the house of two pirates.

This was the house of two lovers.

This was the house of his family.

He wiped a small, singular tear from his eyes and looked around the area, walking into the living room while Neuro went upstairs.

In a living room, you'd expect a TV, a sofa, maybe an armchair or even a rocking chair, with a nice carpet and maybe a rug and some sign of life - a plate, shoes, dog food - and maybe some possessions on the floor.

That was before the apocalypse. Now all electronics had been thrown away and the carpet was concealed by weapons strewn across it and the rug was torn and no sign of life was there aside from maps, weapon designs and strategies.

Not that it would any use to them now since they were... Dead. He picked up the maps and any other pieces of paper that seemed to be of use to them whilst muttering an apology to the recently deceased and then took the weapons in a bag he'd taken with them. He strolled into the kitchen and took all the food that wasn't rotten or near rotten and did the same with drinks.

Meanwhile, Neuro was opening doors and checking them, eyes narrowed slightly and lips pursed a little. He came into the bedroom Beatrix and Ezekiel had shared, the beds made (presumably by Ezekiel) and pressed together. He saw a white stain on the sheets and frowned with confusion. He took some of the stuff that would be useful to them - including the blankets and pillows - and decided to buy an axe from Karloff's to cut up the beds for wood.

He then saw a rope for an attic door and pulled on it, said door opening and a ladder collapsing on the ground. He put it up, leaning it and climbed up it. There was no light switch or even a light bulb - however, there was a lighter nearby some candles so he lit them and took one in its holder. He gasped and looked around to see papers strewn about, all written on in neat handwriting.

He picked one up, sat the candle somewhere he could read the letter without squinting and began to read:

 _My dearest dead sister,  
_

 _Though I was young when you were shot, I am proud to have a fragment of your memory, our dearest Rae, who brings me the delight I so desperately need, and is now one of the few reasons why I force myself to wake up and live another day - another being that you would want me to live a long and blessed life, though blessed is not a thing in my life.  
_

 _Rae woke me up with a purr, eyes shining down at me with a childlike mischief, and I fed her and combed her fur down, for Step Father and Step Mother wish only for perfection, which justifies why they beat me so - I am not of their standard and thus must be punished, however brutally they desire.  
_

 _I must admit, despite being only twelve, I often wonder of how you are. I remember your stories of Heaven and Hell, how you assured me that I am not bad, how it is Step Father and Step Mother who are the wrong-doers, and that I would surely go to Heaven. I remember, as a young child of four, nodding and agreeing and repeating it.  
_

 _Oh they hurt us that day for I, as a young child of four, repeated before their ears, and I remember the anger in their eyes as they beat us near to death.  
_

 _I apologise, sister, for being a disappointment, and I hope you are in Heaven, rejoicing with Him, and that despite everything, you do not view yourself as anything better than my sister, whom was forced to leave me.  
_

 _With love, my dearest dead sister,  
_

 _Ezekiel._

The words were haunting, and more letters were written to this dead sister of the now deceased, and Neuro realised that maybe it was not only Beatrix's death that triggered Ezekiel into killing himself.

Maybe the death of the females he loved was too much to bear, and the male friends he had and perhaps held dear would never fill that hole.

Then he read another letter, though it seemed more modernly written with better handwriting:

 _Upon coming back, no longer mute and perhaps not a Sky Pirate no longer (seeing how my appearance mirrors that of the appearance I possessed prior Nadakhan granting my wish), I must say that the state of Ninjago has changed very much - one notable change being that we seem to be in the middle of an apocalypse.  
_

 _There's an assassin going around, stories of him being passed around, and no longer am I able to sort the rumours and untruths from the evidence and truths, though I suppose unless he hunts myself or Dogshank, it in no way affects me.  
_

 _Still, it unnerves me, dear sister, and I shall be more cautious. I hear there's a blacksmith's in town, perhaps we can purchase some weapons there.  
_

 _Dearest sister, I still miss you. Dogshank is unaware of your demise and our past. I wish Rae was by my side still, though it is proven impossible.  
_

 _Oh sweet sister, I wish you and Mother were alive and with me.  
_

 _Ezekiel.  
_

Neuro rubbed his eyes and then realised something - there'd been an assassin.

Who was this assassin? Why hadn't Kai told him about them? Had they been dealt with?

He broke himself from his chamber of thought and took out a carrier bag, filling it halfway with folded but crammed letters and maps and whatnot. He then slid down the ladder, giving him lots of but not unbearable pain, and the telepath entered one of the unsearched rooms.

Newspapers (why were there newspapers in the apocalypse?) dominated the floor, all strewn about everywhere and anywhere in the room - Neuro stepped on one when he opened the door and he nearly couldn't enter.

He picked the one he'd stood on up and skimmed through it before a headline screamed out at him:

 _ASSASSIN TAKES ANOTHER LIFE_

And as he skimmed through, a name shot out at him:

 _GRIFFIN TURNER_

His fists clenched despite him still holding the newspaper and he blinked away infuriated tears that stung. This bastard assassin killed his brother... How dare they?! He continued reading:

 _In the midst of this apocalypse, there are many assassins for differing reasons - desperation, pleasure, money, the list goes on - but this assassin is the most famed of all, as the killer of nearly twenty and the presumed kidnapper of Neuro Piento, aged 14, who has recently gone missing.  
_

 _His victim of choice today was Griffin Turner, aged 15, who was the adoptive brother of Karloff Kröstove, aged 18, Aaron 'Shadow' Prinz, aged 16 and Neuro Piento. The two elder brothers mourn the loss of their brother but shall continue their search for Neuro.  
_

 _The Ninja wish them luck and have promised to take out the assassin as quickly as possible.  
_ He went missing? Was there a newspaper article about his discovery? If so, was it before or after he became an amnesiac?

What had happened to him?

His head spun and he felt sick; in mere minutes he was on his hands and knees, threatening to throw up but he didn't. He filled the rest of his fifth (since four of his carrier bags were filled with the pillows and blankets), his six and three quarters of his seventh with the newspaper, crushing them a little.

He searched the other rooms and filled most of the carrier bags he'd brought and then trudged downstairs to greet Clancee.

The snake had finished too, he gave him a nod to say that, and, without a word, they returned to their shelter.

Kai was lying in his sleeping bag, asleep, the pizzas on the table beside him, three of them, pieces of paper saying which one was which. They were all uneaten.

Neuro stepped over Kai and knelt to wake him up, but decided against it when he saw the bags around Kai's eyes and kissed his forehead gently. He smiled quietly as Kai murmured in his sleep and looked to Clancee.

"Shall we eat?"

* * *

 _He was underwater, but strangely it was fine, he was sinking, knees to his chest, eyes opened and looking at the surface calmly, breath barely held and he made no movement to swim up, despite being surrounded by his worst fear.  
_

 _Someone dived in, he let go of his breath and now it was harder to keep his eyes open as he breathed in water. Strong hands grabbed his wrists with the tightness of hanging from a noose without a surface under your feet, and he saw blonde hair dancing in the water, pleading green eyes before he succumbed to the darkness but could still feel and hear - he felt Lloyd pulling him up from the water, heard the gasping breaths, felt hands pumping on his chest, heard the pleading murmurs, felt the lips on his giving him oxygen, heard the sobbing...  
_

 _And then saw Lloyd with tears in his eyes and coughed out water after turning on his side and looked up at him, forming a small smirk. "Was that your first kiss, kiddo?"  
_

 _Lloyd chuckled, closing his eyes and letting the tears stream down, but then Nya pushed past him and tightly hugged Kai, forcing him to shakily get up and kneel.  
_

 _"DON'T EVER DO THAT AGAIN!" She sobbed, burying her head into his soaking clad shoulder. He ran a hand through her hair, small smile on his face, but then remembered that he'd accepted the death - he was willing to leave her behind.  
_

 _...  
_

 _He never forgave himself._

* * *

Kai opened his eyes slowly to see Clancee and Neuro doing different things - Neuro was washing the plates and Clancee was setting down the pillows and blankets that Neuro had obtained from Ezekiel and Beatrix's shelter - and sat up with a yawn.

Neuro turned to see Kai, smiled and chuckled to himself. "Good nap, Sleeping Beauty?" Kai pouted a little to which Neuro laughed more.

The Fire Master stood up and grabbed Neuro by the waist, spinning him around once and then hugging him. "It was a lovely nap, kiddo." He teased, pressing his forehead against Neuro's, and then set him down. "You guys like your pizzas?"

"Yes, it was soooooooo good!" Neuro grinned. "Thank you for getting it! The taste was really familiar!"

"It was n-nice, thank you Kai." Clancee grinned. "Just the way I liked it."

"Oh thank Wu..."

"What?" Neuro stared at him before shaking his head. "Kai..."

"Mm?"

"We raided Ezekiel and Beatrix's shelter earlier and I found some newspapers."

"Yeah..."

"And one says that an assassin killed Griffin. Why didn't you tell me?" Neuro frowned at Kai, wanting immediate answers, and his boyfriend froze and looked away.

"Neuro, I'll tell you later."

Neuro crossed his arms and glared at the older teen with a huff, pouting just that tiny bit. "I want to know NOW." He stomped his right foot down as if a toddler demanding something, Kai not meeting his eyes. His expression fell from annoyed and curious to sad and confused. "Kai?"

Kai shook his head and gave Neuro a forced smile. "Don't worry bout it, Neuro. You'll find out one way or another." He kissed his forehead and sat down at the table to eat his own pizza, the shelter being thrown into an uncomfortable silence as Neuro continued washing the plates and Clancee continued on with setting down the collected food and any other possessions they'd discovered in their raid.

"We're lucky it's hard to find their shelter." Clancee mused. "We had to travel to Ignacia Village to find it, and it was just behind the old blacksmith's."

Kai was silent, munching on the pizza with an empty look in his eyes, and then gave a hum of thought.

"Looked deserted, Ignacia. Well, there are people there, but they said the blacksmith hasn't been used since the Water Master became a Ninja."

Neuro frowned. "So there are how many Ninja?"

"Well, before the incident, there were six - five males, one being Kai, and one female, Nya."

"Oh."

"Yeah," Kai forced a smile. "Nya and I are brother and sister, but after I left the team, I lost touch with her."

"Is that so...?" Clancee frowned before having a glare shot at him by the Fire Master. "All right, sheesh."

Neuro frowned in confusion but a look from Kai made him shrug it off. "We gonna go to the infirmary now?"

"SHIT!" Kai finished quickly and nodded. "I forgot, shit, shit, shit, shit!" Neuro chuckled and Clancee shook his head with a smile. Kai ran about, chucking on a jacket, throwing Neuro a hoodie that was way too big for him (they fixed that by rolling up the sleeves and the bottom) and throwing Clancee a jacket.

They walked out, Neuro throwing his hood over his face and looking at Kai, making them both erupt into laughter. Clancee smiled fondly at them and tutted, pushing them toward the bunker as they continued to laugh.

A middle-aged man with platinum blonde hair, artic blue eyes and fair skin passed them, giving them a dirty look, but then pausing at the sight of the snake.

Clancee paused too, but the man simply thrust his hands in his jacket pockets and strutted away with a huff, leaving Clancee to wonder.

How many of the Sky Pirate crew were back to their original state?

Later, they finally reached the bunker and walked down. It was near empty, only some doctors and nurses there with a maximum of seven patients out of forty beds. Blood was all over the walls and the patients looked very still - too still - and only one of the nurses and only one of the doctors were pacing around the room.

"What's wrong?" Neuro stepped forward, reaching out to comfort the nurse after seeing their tear stained face.

"Th-They were d-doing our jo-job when these sa-savag-vages a-attacked! They were wo-working for H-HIM!" The nurse stammered out, tears like a river on his face, before letting the short teen hug him comfortingly. "They killed everyone! Me and Clouse were just lucky to be late!"

"Clouse?" Neuro had to stand on the tips of his toes to look over his shoulder and saw the man with the black, greying, hair in a ponytail pacing the room, biting his fingernails. He looked to Kai who took over comforting the nurse so the younger could go see Clouse.

"Hey." Clouse jumped at the voice and looked down with an expression that was none to pleased to see him. "That nurse-"

"His name is Invizable."

"... Riiiiiight, Invizable then, he told us what happened."

Clouse went silent. "She was so young..." He pointed to a young woman, perhaps a little older than Kai, who was lying in the bed, eyes wide open and dull, one arm hanging limply off the side and hand gripping a pen.

Neuro couldn't help but feel he recognised her somehow, but Clouse pulled him away and shook his head. He just held Neuro close and rested his chin on his head.

Neuro let him, quiet, and hugged him back. "Too many are dying."

"We can't help that Neuro."

"Yes we can. I want to stop him. I want to get rid of him." His voice scared him - he sounded angry, wanting to avenge everyone who'd been wronged by this mystery man.

Beatrix, Ezekiel, that girl, the patients, the doctors, the nurses, everyone who'd fallen to his blade...

He sounded like a murderer. A murderer killed people.

If he killed him, he'd be a murderer - but the one who started it was a murderer too. None of this was morally right, true, but morals didn't matter in this - people were dying and he was going to stop it.

He began to cry into Clouse's body, his own body trembling with tears, and he felt Clouse pull him down and kneel down. He whimpered and let the older man run a hand through his hair.

"Neuro?"

"M-Mm?"

"Do you know who I am to you?"

"N-No..."

"Do you want to?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"I'm your father."

* * *

Ronin and Ash held onto each other as if they were each other's lifeline, Ronin near sleep when the door opened.

Ronin sat up immediately and saw his boss, the platinum blonde hair and artic blue eyes and fair skin that was scarily familiar, and he stuttered up an explanation.

"Ronin..." His boss tutted, Ash being asleep so he could do nothing. "What did I say about Ash?"

"I'm sorry, sir! I tried to stop him sir but..."

"You gave in?" They cruelly suggested, a smile on his face.

"He was persistent." Ronin muttered before he was forced out of the bed by his boss, who pulled the man to his face and let out a hiss of warm, sickly scented breath before dragging Ronin into the next room.

"Persistent or not, you are not to see him - not while you live with me!" He smacked Ronin around the face. "I don't do romance around here Ronin, you know that, dontcha? Remember her, huh?"

Ronin nodded, all remains of his former confidence only a memory that he could barely remember, looking away.

"Hey. Hey, hey, hey... Don't look so sad... We agreed on this, Ronin - my turf, my rules."

"Yes sir."

"Ah, ah. Call me by my name."

"Yes Wretch."

* * *

 **A/N: So. This took AGES. Ugh. Not writer's block - I had TOO MANY IDEAS. UGH.  
**

 **Anyway, so Ronin's boss is Monkey Wretch! :D  
**

 **I remember writing a scene where I said Clouse was Neuro's dad but Neuro didn't know that so yeah.  
**

 **Anyway, some memories of Kai being in danger and being saved and some newspaper articles! YEAH!  
** **But who wrote the newspapers...?**

 **I really need reviews. Feed me, feed me.  
**

 **Lol.  
**

 **I finished a book today. I started it yesterday! :D It's called Pig Heart Boy by Malorie Blackman! I read her series of four - 1st is Noughts and Crosses,**

 **2nd is Knife Edge, 3rd is Checkmate and 4th is Double Cross. I think my favourite character is... Jude. I don't know why.  
**

 **You should read them. I want to read some of her other books too - SHE'S AMAZING.  
**

 **Oh! And check out my Tumblr blog - ihavenosoul12 (13 WAS TAKEN AND I USE 13 BECAUSE 13 IS MY LUCKY NUMBER).  
**

 **Ooh! Also check out crappiestartblogever (Tumblr) and their web-comic Humanish (they gave me permission to write a one-shot with the characters so I'm kinda saying thanks)! It's awesome and the characters are so cool.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this long ass, boring ass, hardest-to-write chapter and my rambling!  
**

 **Bye.  
**


	12. Control Me Not

**A/N: When we last left off, Ronin was getting smacked and bossed around for having his boyfriend around the house which he shares with Monkey Wretch.**

 **If you're wondering what Ronin works as, he's half a slave to Wretch and half something else that Wretch is the boss of.**

 **So at least we know where everyone but Nadakhan and Flintlocke are.**

 **Anyway, thanks for reading this shit, you probably want more cuteness and all that so yeah.**

 **I could spoil the whole story now in seven words, I kid you not. But I won't.**

 **Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

* * *

He stood in the corner, tears in his eyes, biting his lip in pain, hands behind his head.

His boyfriend had been ushered out by Wretch and now he stood, like a young child, in the corner, facing the wall, waiting for his boss to let him go.

"Sleep." That was a one word command and it startled him. He began to turn to look at the ex-pirate. "I don't want to see your face. Go to bed."

Footsteps echoed across the floor and Ronin crept into his own bed, not bothering to change into his night clothes, curling up and burying his head into his pillow, hugging it tightly as well. He lay there for about thirty minutes, hearing his boss (though he was practically owned by him) open and close doors, mutter about statistics and several other things as he lay there, tears keeping him awake.

He closed his eyes, but was not asleep, and he heard Wretch walking, only to hear the echo of him pausing, then heard him walking toward him. He couldn't help but flinch when Monkey Wretch's cold hand touched his cheek gently.

"Sweet dreams." It was a two word whisper that was harsh and cold on his ear and he clutched the pillow tighter. He heard the familiar sound of the light switch off,

Wretch walking out of the door and settling into his own bed, and he opened his eyes to see the darkness before him.

Was this what he had come to?

An empty shell.

She'd be pleased.

Not.

* * *

Garmadon looked up as Clouse returned from his shift at the infirmary, offering a smile to him, only for it to fall when their eyes fell upon each other.

Clouse's were red, with tears perhaps, and he was holding his uniform in his hand, normal clothes currently being worn.

Clouse never changed into his normal clothes before returning.

Something was wrong.

He stood up, approached the shorter man and hugged him tightly, and, no matter how much Clouse struggled and tried to push him or pull away, he did not let go, the man eventually sinking into it.

"What's up, hm?" He asked after a minute of comfortable quiet.

"There was an attack before I got there... Everyone who wasn't late or where there died... I and another guy got there afterwards... Who knows how long they'd been rotting there?!" His murmurs turned into cries and Garmadon shushed him and ran a hand through his hair in an attempt to comfort him.

"Hey, it's going to be fine."

"No it's not! Some of them were so young, Garmadon, and you know that a death will be used against us! They'll be forced to fight on the side they fought against and what's worse is that death gets us all in the end! If we don't act fast, we'll be his pawns in an unfair game!"

Garmadon went quiet, unsure of how to respond to the correct assumption of the sorcerer; Clouse used this to pull away with a murmur of, "That's what I thought.."

He walked away from Garmadon in a silence harsher than the other's, Garmadon's hands left in the arch they took when he hugged the younger male.

What was once a comfortable silence was now uncomfortable, but neither could change it.

But maybe that was a good thing.

* * *

"You guys ready? My spy says he's busy as of now so we can sneak it and grab Zane." No one liked saying the name of the one who continued the apocalypse, so they settled for 'he'.

"Yep." Shadow nodded on behalf of the rest of them - or, more precisely, himself, Camille, Echo and Skales - who agreed. There was nothing to disagree against, they were all ready.

"Good." Toxikita nodded, taking out her war-hammer to break down the door. "Three, two, o-"

"What happened to sneaking?" Camille hissed at her, hair clip, I'll pick the lock. Quieter and sneakier."

"Hmph." Tox scowled. She was the leader of the rebels, but Cam had a habit of taking over and insisting she had a better way - and what was worse, people agreed with her.

She allowed Cam to unlock the door and open it too, but was the first to see the awaiting robot minions of his, and was the first to attack. "GO!" She yelled, rushing in and smashing the robots away with her hammer as Skales slithered in with his sword, stabbing through the robots, and then using the daggers he owned to impale other body parts like eyes or noses or even mouths.

"Guys?" A voice whispered, female and broken, as its owner stepped out of the shadows. Ruby red hair that was supposed to be in a ponytail hung loose over her shoulders, hickory brown eyes were filled with tears and downcast. She looked up slowly. "Toxikita?"

Tox put her hammer away. "We meet again, Skylor. What did he do? Didn't I tell you?"

"He... He... You were right... No matter how much money he offers, no matter how much protection he offers, working for him is the equivalent of dancing with the devil." She murmured, rubbing her eyes with her tanned skin wrists and hands. Her hands were handcuffed in front of her; she was wearing clothing that left nothing to the imagination, but not by choice - because of HIM.

"Hold on, I'll pick the lock." Echo assured, opening a compartment in his arm and pulling out a thin, unnecessary wire and using it to unlock her handcuffs.

"Here's my jumper." Camille pulled off her slightly sweaty jumper and helped Skylor pull it on with a small, soft smile. "Warm enough?"

"Thanks." Skylor nodded, weakly walking with Echo and Camille.

"We'll get her to the truck and join you when we get back, okay?" Camille informed Tox who nodded with a 'hm'.

"Stay safe." Tox commanded, Camille and Echo nodding and guiding Skylor away from the prison.

"If Skylor was a prisoner of him, I can bet you Zane's here too." Skales hissed, well he was a snake so he had no choice, looking around. His sword glinted in the moonlight as the door remained open so they could see enemies that would otherwise be concealed in shadow, but that would mean they couldn't be as stealthy.

It seemed that there were no robots or cyborg or humans gone insane or savage, but there was another door, oak with a bronze coloured knob. They tried the door but it seemed to be locked, and when Skales looked through the keyhole, it seemed that someone, him probably, had filled it with something like cotton wool.

"No way to pick the lock." He said, though Echo was the one trained best in picking locks - Shadow was only their temporary employer, and was not trained because he was not a part of Tox's army, if you could call it that.

"I'll smash through it." Tox grinned - finally, some smashing, that was an idea she could get behind. "Stand back - you don't know what's behind it."

She made sure Shadow and Skales stood back beside her, twisting her head both ways to make sure they weren't in the line of fire. "One... Two... THREE!" She yelled, smashing through the oak door, continuing until the hole she created was big enough for a snake to fit through.

The moonlight, due to the hole's shape, focused on one section and therefore useless to them, so Tox took out a candle and lighter, lighting the string of the candle and shining it about.

There were no enemies to be seen as she shone it around, but there was a robot, chained up by his wrists and heels, blindfolded and gagged as well.

"Zane!" Shadow yelled, practically sprinting to his robot boyfriend and untying the blindfold, bounds and gags, muttering to him. "Are you okay?"

Zane wearily looked up at him and whispered, "I'm sorry... He made me..."

"Why are you sorry?" Shadow smiled softly and then turned to Tox and Skales, serious now. "Can you guys make sure the coast's clear?" Once they turned around, he kissed his lover's forehead gently and brought him to his feet, and as he helped Zane out the hole, he was met with Tox, who told him that it was safe and that they should get back to the truck and to safety.

As they trudged through the forest, Zane stumbled and they were ambushed by robots returning to their master, though they were weak and easy to cut through but not without a fair fight.

When they made it to the truck, they were tired and their wounds would need tending to - they'd been attacked by a couple of wild animals too, not just cyborgs and robots - they were almost glad when they saw the familiar truck of pebble grey and dust and the horrible scent of piss and alcohol that surrounded both the inside and outside of the vehicle - almost because of the aroma.

Echo took on his brother, sitting him in the boot seats along with Skylor, helping him strap in. "Mission accomplished," He recited into a tape recorder after saying the date. "And we also managed to save another prisoner of his."

They clambered into the truck, Skales the driver as he was the oldest in age (though really there was no point in imprisoning someone for underage driving, speeding or whatever else, so they didn't, but Skales could drive and it was his turn), Tox in the passenger seat.

Shadow sat in the middle with Camille on his right and Echo on his left. They sat like this so that those who were a part of Toxikita's army (and these were only a select few who were chosen by Tox to go with her on Shadow's mission - she rarely went on missions but this was to pay off a debt) could easily shoot enemies that were attempting to ambush them if spotted.

The drive was a long one and warm air rushed onto Shadow's face as they winded down the windows, which made it less pleasant seeing as it was boiling hot in the day, so, despite the coolness of night decreasing the temperature, it was still an uncomfortable temperature regardless.

Skales was occupied with driving so Camille had two jobs.

"How long will it take for us to get home?" Shadow asked, keen to return home to Karloff with Zane - on the way he'd calmly explained to the Nindroid that he should stay at his house with Karloff - and he looked at Zane and Skylor, who would be going back to Chen's Noodle House where she could be monitored carefully, in the boot with a sympathetic but not quite sad look.

"Well it took us about an hour to get here so roughly an hour, and that's without any interruptions." Toxikita answered, not daring to turn around. It was quite a frightening idea to all of them, that if they weren't on their guard, they could be shot and dead within seconds and they'll never know what hit them.

The scent of alcohol grew stronger as Camille opened a flask and downed it quickly, Shadow looking horrified. "What?" She growled, glancing at him.

"Why do you drink? You're, like, fifteen."

She'd been in this circumstance before. She'd been dating Karloff happily, and, like Shadow and Zane, they were keeping it a secret. One day, they needed money as

Karloff was running out of materials - this was before he found someone who would stock him up on a low price - and Camille had been offered a job from a mysterious man.

Karloff hadn't wanted her to go but she went anyway, doing work like selecting the best materials for her boss' projects and then she got a promotion.

She got into the same position as Skylor had gotten.

She'd been locked in her room, a dying candle her only light and small meals, until she'd been rescued by Toxikita's army on a mission - the mission was to steal supplies from the camp where she was being held and her rescuing was a bonus. She visited Karloff and told him that she was going to become a part of Toxikita's army and that would supply them with enough money to pay the man who was selling Karloff materials.

Tox hadn't been one of the people on that mission, and neither had anyone else in the truck, but she was loyal to her anyway.

She didn't regret her choice of joining the army but the experience of being HIS was too much to bear and thus she'd turned to alcohol to wipe it out of her mind whenever it began to trouble her.

"Because I can." She snapped.

Shadow didn't have to know the truth.

* * *

Karloff admired his handy work and decided to take a few minutes off - well, maybe an hour, he was in desperate need of rest so he would set his alarm clock for an hour later and sleep. He looked at the calendar, realising that when dawn broke, his next supply of metal would be delivered. He gathered up the money needed and decided that instead would sleep until an hour prior dawn.

He set his alarm clock for that time and fell asleep, trusting in the alarm clock to wake him up.

He dreamt nothing, sleep seeming fast and dark for the eighteen year old. He woke up a few hours prior dawn, memories of before the apocalypse burning in his mind.

They were so happy back then...  
He sighed and stood up, eyes not heavy or aching with a wish for sleep, and went to Neuro's weapon to continue it. He had finished the main weapon but needed to make sure that the gun was accessible and that it was suitable for Neuro's abnormal height. He smiled as he thought about his youngest brother and sighed happily.

Hours passed and the door was knocked upon, slightly startling the Master of Metal. He pulled off his gloves, apron and welding goggles and approached the door.

It was Ronin who stood there, holding two carrier bags and a package. Unlike most times when Ronin delivered - Karloff received a delivery every fortnight and it was always in the last month that Ronin delivered it - the man was not looking at anywhere but the ground and he was trembling slightly.

"Ronin?" Karloff was worried for the older, shorter man - it wasn't that Ronin was short, it was just that Karloff was one of the tallest people in Ninjago. He practically pulled the man inside and sat him down on the spare couch and began to make him a coffee. "What wrong?"

"Nothing, I'm fine." It was a quiet murmur compared to the attitude of the once thief before the apocalypse. "I was just thinking."

"What Ronin thinking about?"

"... Karloff, you know I'm dating Ash, right?"

"Yes..."

"And that I work for Monkey Wretch?"

"Yes..."

"Well, I live with Monkey Wretch and he doesn't want me to be near Ash when I'm in his house and if I misbehave or do something wrong he punishes me and it's putting a strain on my and Ash's relationship and it's like I'm being owned by him." Ronin quietly explained in a fast pace.

Karloff took a second to comprehend and then widened his eyes. "That not right. Wretch should not do that to Ronin." He handed him the coffee and smiled in the way that was offering sympathy and kindness.

"No, it's fine, I understand why he does it. I mean, I'm not the only one who lives with him."

"You live with him?!" Karloff nearly dropped his own coffee cup, having to place it down on the table. "And others?"

"The others don't really work for him. They're more like second-in-commands who also boss me around when he's there." The employee shrugged and sipped at his coffee, looking at it. "This is really good." He mumbled, sipping at it again.

"Sound like you're in one of situations that you need... You know what Karloff mean."

"I don't need rescuing. It's not like I'm his slave..." He trailed off as he came to a realisation. "But it's not much..."

"Wretch ever use you for... pleasure?"

Ronin spat out his drink. "What?!"

"Well?"

"I guess... Sometimes... But nothing like that! You know, just the occasional... dances..."

Karloff sighed. "Ronin gonna get into trouble, and one of the Ninja gonna save you."

"I need to go. Wretch and his friends are expecting me back soon." He took the money for the materials and briskly left, leaving his coffee barely touched and near full.

Karloff sighed, picked up the phone, dialled a number and patiently waited.

"Hello?" The young but gruff voice asked as someone picked up.

"Cole?"

"Yeah?"

"Karloff has another job for you."

* * *

He listened to Karloff's job, noting it down on a notepad. "I'll do it if Sensei'll let me." He didn't wait for a response, putting down the phone. He ran a hand through his hair, let out a sigh and picked up his weapon. A small smirk lay on his face as he placed it on his back and walked out of the room, holding the notepad.

"Sensei." He spoke to the old man, crossing his arms. "Karloff sent in another mission." He uncrossed his hands to throw him down the notepad in front of the Sensei. "Bastard can't be bothered to do it himself yet again."

"Or he knows you will do it efficiently." The old man replied, looking at the notepad, eyes scanning the page, humming and nodding. "I think it's best you do carry out this mission. However..." He threw down another notepad, putting the one his student had given him beside him. "I feel this is urgent too."

"Zane was captured and rescued? Sensei, why is this more urgent?"

"I want you to join Toxikita's army. You'll still work for me, but you'll be saving people."

"Sensei... They kill people."

"I know. You'll be the one who doesn't. You'll let people live, and you'll make Toxikita aware of that. Perhaps you can... help her stop killing." The old man smiled.

"Yes Sensei." He bowed and left. "Which one shall I do first?"

"Whichever one you wish to do first." The Sensei replied without a smile, sipping at his tea.

"I'll do Karloff's mission first." Was the student's response, his expression mirroring his teacher's, and he began to walk away.

"I owe Ronin an apology."

* * *

"If you could choose, would you rather fight a hundred chicken sized zombies or ten zombie sized chickens?"

"Neuro, what is the point of that question? There's no such things as zombies."

"It's just a question." The younger male in the relationship grinned.

Kai ran a hand through his own hair and sighed, considering the answers. "Would I have any weapons or armour?"

"Nope!"

"I'd go for the zombie sized chickens." Kai responded after a minute of humming and deep thought. "They'd probably be easier and cool to look at."

"Yeah, and so BIG! Big chickens, the same size as you! Their clucking ringing in your ears and their great big feet storming toward you! You'd be CRUSHED!" Neuro threw his arms in the air and waved them around dramatically.

"Yeah, but the zombies would be running around you, groaning and running at you. Uggggggh... Ugggggh... Braaaaaaains..." Kai grinned at him, hugging him and kissing his forehead. "I love you."

"I know." Neuro smiled at him. He hugged Kai back.

"Wait, so you're telling me that while ghosts exist, zombies don't?" Clancee raised his snake eyebrow.

"Yea- Oh whatever!" Kai threw himself onto the floor, laying on his back. "I can't control what comes back and what doesn't."

"Well, the robots are basically zombies, since some of them are dead people." Neuro lay down too, feet lined up beside Kai's, but his head nowhere near his boyfriend's head.

"Actually, most of them are dead people. And I'm pretty sure there's a difference between cyborgs and zombies."

"Why don't we call them zomborgs?" Neuro suggested. Kai paused and began to loudly laugh.

"Oh my... Neuro what the fuck..." He giggled, Neuro grinning. "Fine. We're calling them zomborgs."

Neuro giggled too at that, hugging Kai tightly. "Zomborgs!" He squealed happily and giggled at his own childishness.

"Zomborgs." Kai repeated in a deadpan voice, smiling. He sat up, Neuro's head flopping off his chest and onto the floor with a gentle thud. "When this damn apocalypse ends, you can tell the whole of Ninjago about how we fought the zomborgs and loved each other at the same time." He bent down and kissed Neuro's nose, smiling.

"That is if we live to see the end." Clancee spoke. "Kai, you know what happened the rest of the team." Kai turned away during that statement and sat at the table with the food. He took a piece of bread, buttered it and took a bite, chewing on it.

"Kai, what happened to the team?" Neuro frowned. When Kai didn't respond, he asked again. And again and again and again and again. "Kai, pleas-"

"Shut up!" Kai yelled, standing up and holding back a fist, rage and fire in his eyes and on his fist. Neuro flinched, shrieking in terror.

Kai's rage died, as did the flames, and he looked at his fist in horror. He dared to look at Neuro, tears in his red amber eyes, seeing fear and tears in those flint grey eyes with icy blue hints. He expected Neuro to run, but he was frozen in fear. So he did the unexpected.

Kai ran away.

* * *

He approached the house quietly. Yup. This was it.

A cottage, with a stone, square foundation, a wooden (oak?) roof and a wooden door. Clearly purchased, not abandoned and found and used for a shelter, perhaps even built.

Damn. Monkey Wretch must be super rich. Then again, he had Ronin as a servant. He'd taken a flamethrower, he could see the floor was wooden and covered in an aegean blue carpet with no detail on it. The flamethrower shouldn't do too much damage, well, that is if they got out, but if they didn't it would be their fault for not getting out of the house.

He took out his scythe and pulled the door of its hinges with it. He took out the flamethrower and lit the carpet. Ronin looked up in fear as the fire neared, Wretch growling and taking out his weapons, dual cutlasses, and jumped at him. Two of his friends, Bolobo and Jacob, also took out their weapons, Jacob having to use sound as well. Ronin was cowering in the far corner, away from the action and the fire.

"I should have known you'd try to rescue the pathetic rat." Wretch hissed, his attack blocked by the scythe, and he jumped back before the ninja could hit him back. He allowed Bolobo to use his staff to grow vines, but the ninja used his own Element to crush them. "I took Ronin in! I took him in after his house was destroyed by you so you could save the girl fated to die!" Jacob swung at Wretch's attacker with his weapon. The attack was dodged with a duck and Jacob was kicked toward the flames, but grabbed by the guy who kicked him and thrown into a chair.

"And you turned him into his slave." The wielder of the scythe coldly spoke, closing his eyes and slamming the weapon into the ground, creating a huge crack. "You deserve to meet the girl's fate. However..." He chuckled darkly, eyes still closed. "I don't do that." His eyes opened, showing off a darkness and a dullness unseen before. He swung the scythe at Wretch, cutting his hip as it caught on the fabric of his shirt. The once robot primate screeched in pain, pulling himself away. As blood began to trickle out of the wound, he paled but continued fighting, or Bolobo did.

Bolobo summoned the vines once again, this time entangling the ninja in them, and began swinging at him. The ninja used his Element to break the vines and hit

Bolobo away from him, also unconscious.

"You just won't give up, will yo-" The roar of the flames grew louder, now taking the wooden roof as its own. Wretch stared in fear. "YOU FOOL! YOU'VE KILLED US ALL!"

"Nope. We can all survive. I don't kill. But the thing is, the fire does. Now, unless you allow Ronin to walk as a free man, not owned by anyone but himself, I'll quite happily let the fire take you and your henchmen's lives." He chuckled darkly once more. "Choice is yours, Wretch. Live and lose a slave. Die and lose a slave."

Wretch sighed and nodded. The Elemental Master dragged the two other unconscious Masters and led Wrench and Ronin out the back door.

The monkey primate looked at the cottage, growled in anger as he watched it burn and turned away. He stood, looking out at the scenery, beautiful for such a horrible place, as his servant was led away.

"Th-Thank you..." Ronin looked to the ninja, asking permission for something. It was given to him in a single nod.

"... Cole."

* * *

 **A/N: Yup! Cole is the one with Sensei Wu, the one who will not kill and the one who... Well, that'd be spoilers.**

 **Sorry this took so long, I kinda had some shit, good and bad, going on and I didn't update it for a week since I got stuck on a certain part of the story.**

 **So yeah, this was fun to write. Kai's run away, Ronin's been saved and we know that Karloff can hire Cole to do missions for him.**

 **So yeah.**

 **The 100 chicken sized zombies or 10 zombie sized chickens thing comes from Minecraft: Story Mode. I thought it would be a nice way to sneak one of my new fandoms in.**

 **The dual cutlasses are not only a reference to Wretch being a pirate but they're also a reference to Gan Ning, a character you can play as in Dynasty Warriors. He too was a pirate, until he joined Wu (the region, not the Sensei) after Zhou Yu recommended him to Sun Quan. I was going to have dual rapiers but the cutlasses made more sense so I changed it. :)**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this. See you next chapter I guess.**


	13. Let's Go For a Little Walk

**A/N: Thank you for the reviews.**

 **Prepare for some goddamn feels because the majority of this chapter focuses on Kai. The guy needs his own chapter really. He's a main character too. :D**

 **And this contains upsetting material, since there's several memories and one has Kai... nearly die, if you understand what I mean. It's the third part in italics, if you want to skip over it, but you'll miss what may be important.**

 **1234, I'm sorry, but I already have plans for Nadakhan and Flintlocke. Most of the characters I have planned, so therefore I cannot fulfil your request. I apologise for the inconvenience.**

* * *

The wind flew past his face, his breaths were loud and deafening in his ears and, despite them begging him to stop and their aching, his legs sprinted against the cold stone pavement. He panted, arms slashing at the wind. Had it not been the apocalypse, had the people not been hiding or somewhere other than the streets of Ninjago, he knew he'd be receiving stares.

His feet began to burn, not literally, and as he neared the park, he began to lose strength and he collapsed near the statue of Zane when he had died. He rolled onto his back, forcing himself to look up at it, at the cold stone eyes of the Nindroid.

He laid his head sideways and he saw the last grave ever made - their leader's. He'd made it himself, shaped the stone, carved the words, when they were born, the day they died...

He'd carved their name in and put their body in the ground.

He screamed and gripped the gravestone. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE ON ME?!" He screeched, sobbing. "WHY DID YOU HAVE TO LEAVE US? IF YOU DIDN'T LEAVE US EVERYTHING WOULD BE FINE AND..." He trailed off, only sobbing. His head rested on the stone as he sobbed. "I... I'm sorry... I didn't mean to yell... You always hated it when I yelled..." He sniffed. "Or cried or..." He sniffed again, rubbing his eyes, forcing a smile. "Showed w-weak-kness." He pulled away from the last grave to exist.

He heard footsteps approaching him and he looked over his shoulder.

"You!" He yelled, jumping up. "Why are you two here?" He growled, glaring at the younger male and the older woman.

"We came to pay respects to our leader." The male spoke, walking over to the grave and kneeling down.

"Kai, you weren't the only one close to h-"

"You don't deserve to be here! You didn't suffer as much as me or Jay! They were dating!"

"Kai, we did suffer!" The female spoke, crossing her arms and frowning. "We all lost a member of our family."

Kai grit his teeth but allowed the female to pass; he stormed away though.

"Kai..." The male spoke, looking back at him. "I'm sorry..."

The Fire Master didn't respond to the apology, walking away and out of the park, with no intention to head back to his shelter just yet.

He approached the Noodle House, glaring up at the sign. He wasn't angry, no, but he found himself glaring. He walked in, quiet. Dareth was at the counter, washing up. As the bell rang to signal someone was entering, he looked up, seeing Kai enter. A weak smile appeared on his face as he grabbed the tea towel he was drying the dishes with, dried his hands quickly and approached. "Hello Kai. Come here to eat? How are you?"

"I would like some sushi, please." Kai spoke, clearly not wishing to engage in a conversation.

"But... you don't like sushi..." Dareth's smile fell, his expression falling from cheerful to confusion as he blinked at Kai.

"It's not for me." He spoke, the harshness in his voice subtly saying who it was. Dareth sighed and nodded. As he was about to tell the chef to make the sushi, Kai leant over the counter and spoke again. "Oh, Dareth?"

"Hm?" Dareth quickly told the chef the order and turned back to Kai, approaching him.

"Has Skylor returned?"

"Well, she was returned to us yesterday."

"Returned to you?"

"Yeah... He got her." Dareth spoke, shuffling awkwardly and uncomfortably, as if the pronoun of the insane one scared him - which it did. "But Toxikita and some of her group in her army went and saved her and Zane."

"He had Zane?!" Kai stood up, hands firmly planted on the counter now. His eyes were wide with shock but they soon narrowed as he scowled. "How?!"

"Well, I don't know, I'm not one of his followers!" Dareth retorted, crossing his arms. "She's resting as of now, but she'll be up and ready in a few days. Why? Thought you hated her."

"I do. But if she died, that means more trouble for us. She's a good ally in battle. Her necklace makes her powerful, as do her gauntlets and boots. She'd be a powerful foe. Many would fall to her, and that's something we want to avoid." Kai responded, picking up the nearby empty tip jar (who would waste extra money on tips when they had to look after themselves and their loved ones) and a spoon. He began stirring the air inside the jar, the spoon clinking against the glass, infuriating Dareth.

"So you want her because you don't want her to his?"

"Again." Kai coldly spoke, looking at Dareth, gradually slowing down the spoon's speed until it stopped. "I don't want her to become his again."

"So you don't want her to live because she deserves to live? You want her to live because she'll benefit you?" Dareth sighed, going back to the washing up. "I'm beginning to wonder why Neuro even likes you. I'm sure that he'll see just how fucked up you are when he gets his memory back and he'll leave to avoid getting fucked up... again."

Kai went to yell in reply, but Dareth was saved by the bell, which chimed to tell him that the sushi was ready. Kai huffed and crossed his arms, leaning them on the counter as he watched Dareth put the sushi in a bag.

He paid the cost, screwed his face up as the stench of the sushi reached him and groaned. He tied a knot in the bag. Kai thanked Dareth in a murmur, taking out some coins and dropping them in the tip jar. Dareth's eyes widened and he gazed down at the jar.

For the first time in a whole year, the jar had something in it.

A spoon and money.

* * *

 _"Daddy!" Kai squealed as a man entered the door. There was no response. "Daddy?"  
_

 _His sister's eyes widened and she held her older brother's hand, pulling him back from the stranger.  
_

 _This was not their dad.  
_

 _The man sat down on the chair that was in the living room. "You two are Nya and Kai, yes?"  
_

 _The girl nodded, holding her brother back from the strange man that had walked in without knocking. It must have looked strange, to see a young girl holding back her older brother, but to her it was completely normal since Kai was childish and mentally younger.  
_

 _"You are the children of Blayze Smith?" The man asked again, leaning forward so his face was in front of his knees, his face nearer the children. He held a cigar in his right hand, between his index and middle fingers. The cigar was unlit but there was a lighter sticking out of his pocket. Kai whimpered and hugged Nya, confused and scared and wanting their father.  
_

 _"Yes." Nya spoke, stroking the back of Kai's hair to comfort him. The man watched in interest, as if he'd been told beforehand of the boy's mental age but he hadn't believed it.  
_

 _"I have some... news." He muttered, putting it gently. "There was an accident, we don't know what caused it... Many people died... And your father was one of them." Half of it was a lie. He knew what caused it. He was the cause of it.  
_

 _Kai's eyes snapped open as the man confirmed their fears.  
_

 _"Your father is dead."  
_

 _His fists clenched. That childish behaviour and that childish outlook on life disappeared as the words were spoken. He knew. He didn't know how but he knew. A soft growl left his throat, tears were in his eyes, they began to steam and evaporate.  
_

 _He broke out of Nya's grip, the girl wide eyed and crying. His eyes felt like they were burning. He screamed. He leapt.  
_

 _He burst into flames. He grabbed onto the man, setting his clothes and flesh alight, the man screaming in agony as he burnt.  
_

 _"KAI!" Nya screamed, thinking the lighter had somehow lit itself and caught them both alight. She would have grabbed him, but she wasn't fireproof. Kai's flames died out and he passed out atop the burning, most likely dead man. She grabbed her brother, grabbed the nearest precious things and ran out the house, pulling him with her.  
_

 _That was the day their house burnt down.  
_

 _That was the day Kai grew up.  
_

 _That was the day Kai broke._

* * *

Kai remembered that day. He'd thought it was a dream and didn't mention it. He thought that the man had set the house, and himself, alight. He'd thought it was one of the two.

But that had changed when he found out about his Element of Fire. He'd set himself on fire. He'd set that man alight. He'd set the house on fire.

He killed a man and burnt down his own home. For an eleven year old, that was pretty extreme.

He carried the bag, swinging it along, the stench of the sushi still disgusting him. He hadn't liked it for a long time, ever since he was six.

The memories made him smile...

* * *

 _"C'mon Kai, you gotta eat your vegetables before I'll give you the treat." Nya chuckled as she watched her older brother protest against their father. This was a common sight, one she'd grown up with. Her brother had never really grown up, and he had the mental age of a two year old. He still had his pacifier, his crib and he still either ate with his fingers or was fed to by their father or even her. Heck, he still had accidents at times. But she considered this normal, well, not normal, but she couldn't see her brother ever really growing up.  
_

 _"Nuh uh!" Kai giggled. She saw her father chuckle and shake his head.  
_

 _"You should get him a high chair, Daddy." She pointed to Kai, who pouted.  
_

 _"Nuh uh!"  
_

 _"Yes, Kai, if you don't eat your veggies, you're going to have to go into a high chair." Their dad winked at her and Kai took the threat seriously. He began to eat the vegetables with his fingers, grumbling to himself. Once he'd finished, he shoved his plate toward their father.  
_

 _"Done." He grumbled.  
_

 _"Atta boy." Their father ruffled his eldest child's hair. He took the three plates, looking wistfully toward the fourth empty chair beside Nya and sighed.  
_

 _"You excited for the surprise, Kai?" Nya asked, kneeling on her chair and leaning toward him. She didn't get an answer as their father produced three cloth-covered plates from seemingly nowhere.  
_

 _He laid the plates before them, taking the cloths off to reveal sushi. Kai shovelled one in his mouth and immediately began to choke. He started crying and screeching and coughing, alarm bells going off in Blayze's mind. He picked up the boy and began patting his back. The sushi came out in a wave of vomit and Kai began to cry and held onto his father.  
_

 _His father later offered him another piece of sushi and he cried again.  
_

 _"Well, that settles it. Kai's never eating sushi again."_

* * *

There was also the time where the Ninja went to a sushi restaurant and the same events happened, except Kai didn't throw up and it just came out and it was Zane. Jay'd been laughing but Nya elbowed him in the hip.

The memories made him want to cry and laugh at the same time. The times he spent with the Ninja were the best, and now the team was broken into very fine shards. Zane and all the rest could kid themselves, saying they were still Ninja but Kai knew the truth.

He was like a pillar supporting a platform beside their leader and along with the rest of the Ninja. And when their leader's pillar fell, his began to break - and it did.

Now only a few pillars were left, not enough to continue to support the platform, and they were calling for him to return. He would never return. Not without the leader's pillar.

He'd promised them he'd follow them to the ends of the Earth. Now they were gone, and Neuro was the only one giving him a reason to live.

And Nya.

Wherever she was.

He approached the park once more, the female and male were still there. How long had he been gone? Fifteen, thirty minutes? Why were they still there? Well, it was good, he supposed.

He dropped the bag in front of them, making them look up. They looked hungry, as if they struggled to eat, which they probably did - they were always on the move, they couldn't simply stop at a sushi restaurant or Chen's Noodle House or whatnot, they had missions they carried out, and they'd stumble onto people who needed saving. Food was not as big as a priority to them anymore.

"Sushi?" The female whispered, peering into the bag. Her eyes were filled with light, a rare sight to see in this Ninjago. The light was bright in her eyes, reflecting againt the water her orbs were gathering, and she hugged him tightly. "Thank you..."

It wasn't much, but they were starved, like previously mentioned. The male smiled at him, nodded a thank you and the two walked away, the bag of sushi in her hand. He watched them leave, a faint smile on his face.

He rubbed his eyes as they watered. There was no one to watch him cry so he sat beside the grave and sobbed to himself. His gentle sobs turned into agonised, messy scream-sobs, and he began to attack Zane's memorial. He was screaming and crying, salt water flowing from his eyes and snot running from his nose. He ended up curling up and whimpering to himself. He didn't care if robots came and shot him now. He didn't care if people saw him weak and crying.

He felt so helpless. He wished they were still here...

But they weren't.

* * *

 _He tied the noose around his neck, wobbling on the chair. He tied the other to the beam in their room, muttering to himself.  
_

 _They were gone. They were dead. He hadn't saved them. He had failed them.  
_

 _He hadn't done his job.  
_

 _They'd left him and the others.  
_

 _Now he'll follow in their footsteps.  
_

 _He took a deep, shaky breath. He had written the note, it was where they'd see it, and he closed his eyes.  
_

 _"I-I'm s-so sorry..." He mumbled. He knew who he was talking about, he didn't have to say the name. He wanted to scream but they'd come and they'd stop him before he could even dare.  
_

 _He leaned over a little, standing on his tip-toes, looking at the ground. He whimpered, knowing he would never touch the carpet which was so smooth and delicate against his skin again. His eyes watered as he reconsidered.  
_

 _This was it.  
_

 _He was going to die.  
_

 _He exhaled, murmuring an apology to everyone he'd ever known in the order of importance: his sister, his family, his team, his teachers, Neuro, the Elemental_ _Masters, the civilians of Ninjago, the people of his village...  
_

 _Himself. He came last. He was not important. Not compared to them.  
_

 _He lifted a foot, dangling precariously. One movement would end his life. He inhaled, ready to make that movement.  
_

 _And the door swung open.  
_

 _An hour later, he was wrapped up in blankets, hair flat with water from the shower he'd taken, neck sore, a perfectly made hot chocolate at the perfect temperature and with two of his team sat beside him. They were hugging him, surprisingly not as angry as he'd thought they'd be if they caught him, which they did.  
_

 _"I know you're in a hard place, Kai," He'd expected to be lectured. "But we need you. To try and kill yourself was selfish, Kai. We've already lost one of us. How could we deal with a death when one happened only a month ago?"  
_

 _No. That wasn't what was said. The rope had been cut and he'd been taken off the chair and taken, well, carried, to the bathroom, where he was instructed to have a bath, which he did, and he was given pyjamas to dress into afterwards. Zane had made him a hot chocolate, which had whipped cream and marshmallows (only the pink ones, Kai didn't like the white ones) and shavings of white and milk chocolate. He began only then to sip at it, the cream cooling his lip and stick to the skin whilst the liquid warmed the inside of his mouth. He'd began to shiver so one of them had wrapped a blanket around him.  
He snuggled inside the blanket and up to his brother, closing his eyes. The hot chocolate was prised out of his hands and set on the table, some splashing out of the cup and dribbling down the side. Arms wrapped around him and pulled him into the arms' owner's lap. He laid his head on his brother's chest and relaxed.  
_

 _Fingers gently ran across his neck, he ignored it, and he heard a sigh.  
_

 _"He still thinks of no one but himself." A cold voice spoke, the owner crossing their hands and scowling. "Typical Kai."  
_

 _"That's not fair... He lost someone again, like when he lost his parents."  
_

 _"We lost them too, but none of us tried to kill ourselves. He thought he was alone in his suffering, and he wanted to leave us all behind!"  
_

 _"Yes, Kai was being selfish, but telling him that will only worsen his condition."  
_

 _So he was right. They did think him selfish.  
_

 _That night, he left.  
_

 _He didn't even say goodbye to his brothers.  
_

 _He only said goodbye to Nya._

* * *

It suddenly occurred to him that when they first re-met Zane that Zane had thought Kai was dead.

Did Zane think that Kai'd run away... to kill himself? The guilt became heavier now. Not only had he torn apart the team by letting them die, but he caused them to think that he had died by his own hands.

He really was selfish. He thought of no one but himself.

He sighed, resting his head against Zane's statue. His eyes were closed as his tears dried on his cheeks.

"I knew I'd find you here." A voice spoke. He forced his eyes to open to see a very blurry Zane. He seemed beaten pretty badly and he was limping. Shadow was trailing behind him, but Zane seemed to be fine on his own aside from the injuries and the limping. "What happened now?" He carefully sat himself underneath the statue beside Kai, who went quiet.

Shadow began to approach but Zane nodded for him to allow them some privacy. "I'll go get some food. You want some, Kai?"

Kai didn't respond; he only hugged his knees and rested his chin on them.

"Right, okay." Shadow nodded to himself and walked away.

Zane tilted his head to look up at the statue celebrating his memory. It'd been built a couple years ago now, and he'd returned, but no one had taken it down. It was almost a refusal to take it down. He sighed and looked to Kai, who was looking away, and laid a hand on Kai's knee. "I know it's hard..." He spoke in a near whisper, fingers massaging Kai's knee in a gentle manner.

Kai was silent, letting Zane's fingers stroke his knee, and his crossed arms fell against his chest. He cast his gaze down at the park's floor, and it was a numb yet depressed gaze.

"I want things to be back to the way they were before too. But they can't be. We also lost a sibling, Kai. You did not suffer alone."

"I... I promised I would look after h-" He broke down into tears and collapsed against the memorial. Zane's gaze softened into sympathy and he pulled Kai onto his lap and hugged him, rubbing circles on his back.

"I know." He whispered, closing his eyes and letting his head drop.

"I know."

* * *

 _There was a knock at the door, Nya was told to answer it as her father was busy preparing their dinner - they were having guests, three (a couple and their son, who was around Kai's physical age, he said), so there was enough to feed six instead of three.  
_

 _The couple, both sort of old with grey hairs but still seeming around middle-aged, and their son, with brownish red hair and navy blue eyes that giggled with excitement, stood at the door, smiling down at her.  
_

 _"Are you Mr and Mrs Walker?" She asked, as she'd been instructed.  
_

 _"Yes, sweetie." The man of the couple answered, still smiling. "Where's your dad and older brother, hm?"  
_

 _"Dad's in the kitchen making tea and Kai's napping." That last one made the boy frown - Kai was eight like him, right?  
_

 _"Only babies nap!" He huffed aloud, and Nya's face scrunched up, about to defend her brother.  
_

 _"Jay, don't be so mean!" His mother scolded the boy, or Jay, slightly slapping his shoulder.  
_

 _"Sorry Ma..." He went quiet while his parents talked to Nya, who told them her name was Nya and led them inside to her father. "I'm sorry, Nya." He later said to her.  
_

 _Nya, who had forgiven and forgot, looked at him with a confused expression, but then remembered. "No, it's fine... Jay, right?"  
_

 _"Mm hm. I'm Jay Walker."  
_

 _"Nya, Nya Smith." She grinned and shook his head. "Wanna help me wake up Kai? It's half an hour until tea time and he gets cranky if he misses tea time or is woken up just before we have tea so Dad and I make sure we wake him up half an hour before." She explained to Jay as she led him up the stairs, the adults' boring droning fading into the background.  
_

 _She opened the door to Kai's room (her room being on the opposite wall and their father's being the attic) and he gasped.  
_

 _The wall the door was on and the wall to his and the wall's right were both a relaxing rose red, whilst the walls opposite and on his left were sky blue, also calming. All_ _of the corners had an iris purple strip from the ceiling to the floor.  
_

 _There was a dressing table tucked in right top corner, opposite the door, and the window was about a metre away from it. There was a table and several other pieces of furniture suitable for children around four. He frowned in confusion, looked to Nya and asked about it.  
_

 _"You see, Kai doesn't really act his age." Nya explained, shutting the door. Jay saw Kai's bed, with a lump under the covers and a bedwetting protection mat poking out the covers. "He has the mental age of about two, three or four. He has a friend who plays with him, but he's about a year younger and has his normal mental age, but he's happy to play with Kai." She explained, approaching the bed.  
_

 _She peeled the covers off the bed to reveal a sleeping boy, Jay's age, sucking his thumb and curled up. His eyes, red amber, peeled open and looked up at his younger_ _sister._

 _"Well done, Kai, you kept your bed dry!" She praised him, planting a kiss on his forehead. She picked him up, which Jay found impressive. "I've had practice. About four years practice."  
_

 _"Whoa. Remind me to never fight you." Jay joked, grinning.  
_

 _"I was never good at fighting, so you don't have to worry about that." She smiled back, carrying her brother down the stairs.  
_

 _"Oh, by the way, you said Kai had a friend who'd play with him. What's his friend's name?"  
_

 _"Oh, him? His name's Neuro. Why?"  
_

 _"Don't worry about it."_

* * *

"Any sight of him?" Neuro asked the snake, who shook his head.

"No. He didn't answer my calls and I looked everywhere. I think he was in the park at one point but he must have moved." Clancee laid a hand on the telepath's shoulder, an apologetic smile on his face. "I'm not going to give up, you hear me? We're gonna find Kai and he's going to come back to live with us, with you, and everything will go be back to normal. You understand me?"

"I understand Clancee, but... What if Kai won't come home?" Neuro mumbled, looking away. "What if he doesn't want to come back and he leaves and we never see him again?!"

"He won't. You're his boyfriend. He loves you. I bet you're all he has left. He won't leave the one thing he holds dearest behind. He won't let anything happen to you and he'll return. Kai's loyal like that." The snake shook his head, sighing sadly. "Alas, that is his downfall."

Neuro frowned in confusion but shook his head. "You really think so?"

"I know he'll return, Neuro. He'll be back in a couple hours, two days at best. I promise." He offered the vertically challenged telepath a smile and hugged him tightly.

"Like I said, Kai's too loyal to leave anyone behind."

"But you said loyalty was his downfall... Why is that?" Neuro, returning the hug, said, looking up at the snake.

"You see... Kai's too loyal to let anyone go."

* * *

 **A/N: Well this is finally done.  
**

 **Ugh this took so stupidly LONG to write for a chapter mostly about Kai with a Neuro and Clancee scene, which, by the way, was stupidly short.  
**

 **I ran out of ideas for what Neuro and Clancee could say that would be relevant to the conversation, so I decided to end it with that line.  
**

 **If you don't exactly understand, it means that Kai won't let anyone go because he feels like he's leaving them and if they get hurt or worse, it'll be his fault.  
**

 **Jay, Kai and Nya don't remember that they met.  
**

 **Note that I said 'don't'. That could mean something...  
**

 **Maybe. Maybe it means something.  
**

 **Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.  
**


	14. Love Lost, Love Separated, Love Reunited

**A/N: Okay, so there's gonna be a reference to the filler shorts with Chen and Clouse in this. See if you can find it! :D**

 **Thank you for the reviews, by the way.**

 **However... I feel like no one's really reading this anymore, that you just click it, skim through it and review. I mean, it's unlikely, but thoughts like that really put me down and make me want to give up...**

 **I'm sorry.**

* * *

First it had been two hours. Kai still hadn't returned. Then it had been two days. There was still no sign of him.

Now it had been two months. Kai had still not been found. They'd gone everywhere, but no one had seen him around - not even Karloff, Shadow and Zane, who lived with them now.

Neuro was fiddling with the mattresses, quiet and thoughtful. He was straightening them and laying the blankets on top of them so it was flat. He was distracting himself from his missing boyfriend, but as soon as he was relaxed, not doing anything or eating, the scary thoughts came into his mind, and he'd do anything to stop them.

"Neuro, you're becoming a madman." Clancee would say, resting his hand on the younger male's shoulder and shaking it slightly, but he'd never listen nor respond, as the thoughts would come if he stopped. "Neuro, you need to relax. He'll come back." Clancee would try, frowning and shaking his shoulder more violently, but Neuro never listened or responded, only continuing his work.

"Goddamn it, Neuro." Clancee muttered every time, shaking his head and walking away. "God fucking damn it."

There'd be no more words between them. No happy conversation, no jokes, no news, just a silence caused by an absence, and perhaps it was better that way, for Neuro often pondered if he'd be able to bear speaking without tears appearing.

Clancee would watch Neuro distract himself. Yes, it got a lot done; they managed to fix the mattress - Clancee hadn't even realised that it needed fixing, but apparently there was a hole and that needed sewing - and assemble the bed they'd had to break apart to transport it - how one ten-year-old-sized teen did that all by himself Clancee'd never know - and the floorboards no longer creaked.

He didn't say anything about it though, deciding to admire Neuro's handiwork in silence, because the boy'd never answer or thank him for thanking him.

The door knocked, and for a small, stupid moment, Clancee hoped it was Dogshank - or Beatrix - and/or Doubloon - or Ezekiel - before remembering the two of them were dead. His eyes watered before he shook his head and he walked toward the door, casting a glance in Neuro's direction, the teen busy with making the bed.

He opened it, surprised to see Karloff. "Package for Neuro." He murmured, thrusting out his hands to show off a rectangular box, wrapped in the typical, peanut brown packaging paper, a piece of chiffon white string wrapped around its centre. It was around Neuro's height, a bit smaller than him, but it was thin.

"Thanks," He muttered, taking the package carefully, being mindful of the door. "Hey, have you seen Kai around recently? You still keeping an eye out for him?"

Karloff paled slightly, and was that beads of sweat dripping down his face. "No... Karloff not see Kai... Karloff keep eye out for him!" He grinned. "Tell Neuro Karloff see him later!" He darted away, briskly walking.

"Weirdo..." Clancee muttered. He shrugged and shut the door, walking back inside. "Yo, Neuro, Karloff's got a package for you. Says it's from... Kai?"

Neuro looked up, and he stood from making the bed. He took the package in his hand, running a hand along it before untying the string and opening the box.

It was a staff. A weapon, and the centre had a slit running in a circle, and there was a rectangular shape slit, the lengths around a finger long and the width perhaps a centimetre long. He ran a finger along the slit, eyes wide.

There was also a note in the box:

 _Hey, Neuro, it's Kai. I'd love to tell you where I am, but I don't think I can. Anyway, Karloff said he'd deliver it for me, which will give poor Ash a rest, haha. He's the mailman, ya know._

 _Oh, by the way, this is a weapon for you. It's been in the making since we first went to Karloff's, and it took this long to do. Remember? We first met Ezekiel and Beatrix? It's a staff but it turns into a rifle. Pretty neat, huh? Karloff put his signature on the trigger, and carved my name into the side._

 _Anyways, I love you and all that (gosh, I'm the worst boyfriend ever, aren't I?)! See ya later! Tell Clancee I said hi._

Neuro re-read the note over and over again in silence. He looked at the weapon. "So if I have my finger on the trigger for too long, 'K' will be carved into my finger for a while... Heh." He chuckled. "Doesn't say how to trigger the transformation." He ran his finger along the whole weapon, looking for a well hidden button or switch, not finding one; he placed his hand on either side of the centre, placing his thumbs on the bottom, and carefully attempted to bend it.

It didn't move, so he looked at the top of the staff, seeing a hole. "Oh that's clever..." He muttered, pressing down gently. It slid into the other side, and it triggered something inside the staff, and a handle and trigger popped out from where the rectangle was. "That's good... That's real good."

He looked through the package, seeing a bunch of silver trench knives and a leather belt with sheaths for the knives. He smirked. "I like that." He put the belt on and slipped the knives into the sheaths before admiring himself in the mirror that lived in the corner. "I like that a lot."

Clancee smiled. "Why don't you try out Ezekiel's beret? Could look good on you." He held out the hat to him, smirking slightly.

"All right." He took the hat and placed it on his head. "Ooh, yes." He felt like it was somewhat familiar, as if the belt belonged on his waist, the knives were made for him and that he was made to fight. The hat and the knowledge of the secrets it held only made the feeling of being born to fight stronger.

He grinned, perhaps accidentally a bit maliciously. Clancee raised his snake eyebrow. "C-Calm down there, pal." He muttered, raising his hands.

"Sorry..." Neuro took off the hat. "It's just that... Well.. It feels natural for me to look like this..."

Clancee raised an eyebrow. "Right... That's not creepy at all."

"In my defence, I can't control this feeling." Neuro huffed. "Anyway, I'm pumped for a fight now." He turned the rifle into its staff form by pushing the handle and trigger up into the staff, which caused the other end to pop out from inside. He smiled.

"At least Kai's still alive," Neuro murmured, placing the staff back in its box and placing the box against the wall. "Or he's been alive recently..."

"Huh. Wonder where he is..."

* * *

Kai nodded a thanks as Karloff gave him his tea, blowing on it gently before taking a sip.

"Karloff deliver Neuro's staff for Kai." He offered, grabbing the recently wrapped box and smiling at Kai, who smiled back. "Be back later." As soon as the Metal Master left the room, the Shadow Master shot up and pinned Kai to the wall by his neck with both hands, his tea falling to the floor.

"So you try and hurt my little brother, huh? You do not mess with my family, no matter their crimes!"

"I didn't intend to! I stopped myself!" Kai choked out, grabbing Shadow's wrists and trying to free himself. "I would never intentionally hurt him!"

"Shadow, stop it," Zane said calmly, lifting a hand and holding a stern expression on his face. "Release my brother."

Shadow grumbled and huffed, but did as his boyfriend asked. "So, what did ya put in the box, aside from that staff?"

"I found some of Neuro's old weapons... His belt and his trench knives..."

"Dude, if those feelings of coldness and a wish to kill return to him, you could put your life and others' lives in danger. Neuro was really evil before his amnesia..." Shadow looked away at that last bit, looking down at the tea stain before sighing. "However, Neuro does need some weapons to defend himself with, so maybe the trench knives and belt was a good call."

"Hm. I also gave him a note from me, but that's it."

"Well, I woulda thought you'd give him a gift, maybe a cupcake, or a book."

"Hmph. Like I have either," Kai mumbled, before leaning back and sighing. "Thanks for telling Neuro I wasn't here."

"Please, I just liked shoving you in a cupboard and not hearing you talk." Shadow winked with a grin as Kai pouted.

"I have to agree with Shadow there," Zane confessed, a chuckle laced in with his words, and he smirked kindly as Kai whined his name. "Hey, can't blame me."

Karloff returned during the conversation that followed, and his eyes saw the tea stain on the floor. The cup lay unbroken beside it, and, slowly looking at Kai and Shadow, he raised his eyebrows. "... Karloff clean stain..." He frowned at Shadow before moving to get a cloth.

"What?" Shadow shrugged with a grunt, ignoring Karloff's glare. "Whaaaaat?!"

"Shadow, leave Kai alone. Zane and Shadow... spend time together."

The robot and the Shadow Master grinned at each other and attempted to act casually whilst walking past Kai, but he saw them hold hands, their fingers interlocking, as they entered Shadow's room, and they shot excited smiles at each other, teeth showing through.

After they were out of sight and earshot, Kai looked up at Karloff. "Couple?"

"You bet."

"Huh. Explains a lot." Kai smirked as he spoke, hearing happy shrieks from the bedroom. "... What are they doing in there?"

Karloff smirked. "Not sex, if that what Kai thinking."

"I was not thinking that at all!" Kai blushed furiously, looking away from Karloff as the older man's smirk grew. "I was just curious!"

"Curiosity killed cat," Karloff quoted, still smirking.

"Actually, ignorance killed the cat. Curiosity was framed," Kai jokingly corrected. He sighed. "I miss Neuro... But I don't think I can face him... Bet he's ripped up the note..." He sighed.

"Knowing Neuro, he won't have."

"But considering what he's been through... He became... that and then got amnesia. He's not the same guy, Karloff, he's not the same little honorary brother you used to know..."

Karloff scowled at Kai. "Don't remind Karloff about that!" He growled, causing Kai to flinch. He closed his eyes and collapsed onto the couch with a sigh before sitting up and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Karloff sorry for yelling."

"No, no, it's fine." Kai shook his head. "I shouldn't have said that."

An uneasy, awkward silence occurred, though Shadow and Zane's lustful and pleasured noises came from outside the door. Slightly disturbing, Kai found it, but he wouldn't ruin their fun.

Their... fun.

Kai bit his lip and sighed. "Thanks for looking out for me... But I'm gonna go..." He stood up - Karloff didn't stop him - and left the flat, with Karloff's mocha brown eyes watching him. "See ya..."

"Goodbye."

* * *

Clouse lay on his bed, eyes closed as he day-dreamed, mouth slightly ajar. His hair, loose, was spread out against the pillow and his arms were crossed in an 'x' shape - had a stranger walked in, they'd think him dead and they'd run out of the room screaming. Not because he was dead - corpses were a common sight as of now - but because of what all corpses became.

He lay there for five minutes in a futile attempt to fall asleep, and when that didn't work, he sighed and sat up, crossing his arms. Clouse could hear Garmadon working in the room they called their kitchen, and, whilst it was clear he was attempting to keep quiet so he wouldn't irritate the sorcerer, he was extremely loud - it didn't bother him, it actually made him smile at the thought of his former rival not wanting him upset.

He stood up from his bed, not having to peel the covers off of his body, and walked out, pulling his loose hair back into its typical ponytail, with a yawn. "Morning."

"Afternoon."

"Oh, is it?" Clouse muttered, looking to the clock, which said that it was two. "Oh."

"Look, why don't we play some table tennis?"

"Why would we do that?"

"Clouse, come on. We need to relax. You need to relax. It might be fun." Garmadon smiled gently to try and coax him into playing the game. "And what else am I meant to do with the table for it that I bought?"

"You bought a table tennis table?!"

"Accidentally!"

"You fucking idiot! How do you accidentally buy a table tennis tab- bleh..." Clouse stumbled over his words and paused. He began to laugh softly.

Garmadon laughed softly as well, smiling. "C'mon. We need to play a game of table tennis. Might cheer us up."

Clouse, with a typical roll of his eyes, sighed and nodded. "All right, all right." He groaned at Garmadon's grin. "But only to shut you up!"

* * *

They had a break - for once - as there were no criminals they knew of to be dealt with, and so the two had time to themselves.

He sat alone at an old, wooden table, hands clasped underneath his chin whilst she made and stirred cups of coffee for herself and him, lost in deep thought. Teeth absentmindedly tugging gently at his lip, his eyes were dull, as all energy and joy he once felt was only a glimmer of a memory. Such a thing made him feel like he was swimming in the air, toward escape, toward bliss, toward sweet, sweet, bittersweet and long-forgotten memories.

He remembered some, though none brought an absent smile to his face, but they did not depress him, instead numbing him, reminding him of his many mistakes.

...

 _He only wanted money back then... Just enough to keep him, and her, and perhaps others, alive. He was desperate. After the group had split up, the two were suddenly homeless as Sensei and Cole took over the home of the Ninja, and they travelled._

 _Eventually, a kind man offered them a shelter for a small rent that would be collected every month. But even then, they struggled to get by._

 _She said his name to get his attention, and he turned his head ever so slightly toward her. "You need to get a job so we can pay off the rent." Her eyebrows were knitted together in worry and that look, the one that made him groan and turn away, standing before walking away. "Don't you turn away from me, mister!"_

 _"Don't worry, I'm looking for one!" He called back, grabbing a coat, the colour of his ninja karategi (or, as he preferred to call it, his gi), before leaving the shelter._

 _Gripping it tightly onto him, he wandered around the town, sun glaring down despite it being late autumn - it'd been around quarter of a year since the incident, and he still blamed himself for it._

 _He should have stood his ground and been the leader that day._

 _Lost in thought, the young man accidentally walked into a lamp post. "Oof!" He hit his head hard and fell on the floor._

 _That's when he saw the job offer. It made him sick to think of, to be... that for females, but it offered so much money... More than enough. He squinted, looking at the flier attached to the post, dialled the number and gave them everything they needed to know._

 _He took the flier off the post._

 _Surely she wouldn't mind if he got a job in prostitution, right?_

...

He heard his name faintly before having a mug of coffee slammed in front of him. He murmured a thank you, bringing the drink to his lips without paying attention to what he was doing, swearing loudly as it burnt his lips and slamming the mug on the table and the coffee spilt onto the table, possibly leaving a stain. Instantly, her hands slammed onto the table, only spilling more coffee onto the table.

"Damn it!" She yelled at him. "Why don't you look at what you're doing for once?!" He winced at her rage, shrinking down and leaning away from the table. "... You're still thinking about her, aren't you?" Her anger dissipated into sympathy, and, still standing, she reached across the table and held his hands in hers.

Her eyes looked just as pained as his now tearful ones, a sad yet comforting and motherly smile upon her features. "Honey, that wasn't your fault."

"I... I didn't mean to hurt her..." He murmured, tears choking his voice and causing it to crack a little.

"I think she'd know that," She assured him, pulling him off his chair and into her arms, where he nearly collapsed into them and cried. "I think she'd know that..."

Then her voice was quiet as she added, "If she was alive."

...

 _A few weeks - a month or two - had passed after he took up the job - he found it, whilst unpleasurable, like an escape to the suffering life had thrown at him (and his clients always liked how he 'danced'). He was sure to at least match their passion - if they were enthusiastic, he'd be just as, but if they seemed bored, he would make it more exciting.  
_

 _He lost count of how many clients he had, but then she, meek and quiet, required his services.  
_

 _She had hickory brown hair and admiral blue eyes, matched by tan skin. She wore a dress of a similar colour to her complexion, and she had her hands folded behind her back when she asked for him to... do his job. Her name, she told him, was Eliza.  
_

 _When in bed, gosh did she change - she was passionate, exciting to be around, dominant even.  
_

 _But then she ended up pregnant. She didn't want to abort it - she always wanted a child, she'd told him. He didn't beg for her to get rid of it, it was bound to happen at one point.  
_

 _A few weeks before it was supposed to be due, she went into labour, and was in a lot of pain. She had to go into surgery.  
_

 _Neither mother nor child made it out alive.  
_

 _Even though they'd agreed he'd have nothing to do with the child (never see them grow up, not be around, not have to pay for any of the things the child needed), he was crushed. Lives had been lost...  
_

 _Maybe if she didn't become his client... she'd have lived.  
_

 _Even though he continued his job (the rent and the cost of resources begged he did), he never did forget her. He was yelled at a couple times for murmuring her name (her beautiful, beautiful name) but it wasn't to be helped.  
_

 _Perhaps he'd fallen in love with her without even realising._

 _..._

 _About another month had passed since he took the job, and he nearly cried when he saw Eliza now a robot being used to serve the one who'd continued the apocalypse. She nearly killed him, but she - not Eliza, the one who had travelled with him - saved his life... killing Eliza all over again. He sobbed and she held him._

 _Meanwhile, Eliza's eyes, open and wide, stared at them, admiral blue eyes once so full of life now so lacking of it. Her chest had a large hole from the weapon that had impaled her, her hair cut short, skin tainted with blood, some old, some recent. The sight of her caused more tears, and the one whom he travelled with decided on something._

 _"C'mon," She said, voice soft and quiet, leading him away. Putting a hand in her belt pouch, she took a grenade out of it, his eyes widening at the sight. A stray tear ran down his cheek and toward his mouth, leaving a salty taste on it as she pulled the safety pin of it and threw it toward the body._

 _He turned to the side as it blew up, feeling the flare and heat, hearing the explosion and, out of the corner of his eye, saw it too._

 _"It's over, honey." Her whispers were of no help; he'd cry, but he could no more._

 _He turned away fully now, walking away to their home._

...

They didn't live in that home now - no, this place was just a temporary shelter, it was abandoned, unowned (to their knowledge), and quiet. They'd tried washing out the stain on the table (they'd left it too long) but failed, and ended up cutting it up into pieces for firewood.

"It'll be fine." Whilst she cradled him in her arms, those words were continuously murmured, synchronising with each rock. She kissed his forehead gently. "I'll make sure nothing hurts you anymore."

There was silence for half an hour.

And then...

"I'm going to keep that promise."

* * *

The process of creating robots was a beautiful one indeed, he thought, relaxing as he lay back. Yes, sadly, Skylor was taken from him, and now he had nothing nor no one to keep him amused and laughing before he slept, but he couldn't bothered to create robots with the purpose of finding him a new plaything just yet.

Maybe later. Maybe later.

His newest general, or puppet as he liked to call them, J.D, approached him, fearful (killing him and turning him into a robot would erase that fear, but this boy was a pretty boy that he couldn't bear to ruin - no, not yet. Maybe later. Maybe later) - and why shouldn't he be?! He'd been trained and taught things that the puny, pathetic people of Ninjago hadn't been, and he was ever so powerful up here. Why, if he wished it, every single robot in this factory and in Ninjago could be turned against this single man.

You did not want to anger this man, or upset him.

He giggled a little and twisted in his throne, his legs on the back of it, back on its seat and head hanging off the edge. With a slight song in his voice, he asked, "Yessss?"

"S-Sir... It appears... Kai has disappeared."

"Disappeared?" A slight pout formed on his mouth. This news upset him a lot - in fact, he was already plotting J.D's death - but he continued. "Left Ninjago?"

"We're not sure. None of the citizens have seen him."

A soft growl left his lips, unnerving the poor boy of a general. He twisted back so he was sitting in the seat properly and then slowly stood. A giggle was bubbling in his throat as he approached the general, grabbing his shoulders harshly and without warning.

The general - he must have been no older than fourteen - shook and waited for imminent death.

But no, the older male placed his lips upon the boy's, beginning to move in a rhythm of passion. J.D, being new, was confused and was hesitant to return the kiss.

He pulled away from the general, allowing one of the older ones to tell him what to do - "Return it. And enjoy it. It'll be the last time you might ever get anything upon your lips." - and then continuing.

Whilst the kiss deepened and became longer, and while he ran out of breath, the one who threatened the lives of everyone in Ninjago quickly quite literally stabbed the poor boy in the back.

"... I told you to enjoy it," whispered the older general who'd told him what to do.

Tears were in the eyes of the general - it was sad how confused, scared and unprepared poor J.D was - as he fell to the floor, and was turned onto his back and then straddled by the one who kissed and stabbed him.

"You know, I kind of liked you," The general's killer whispered, another giggle bubbling on his lips. "But sadly, you said bad, bad things that I didn't like. Trust me, death is easy - living's harder. I would have punished you in a worse way if you lived... Maybe you could have been my plaything..." That sparked an idea. "Actually... Your wound may not be fatal..."

He looked down at him, pouting with a frown.

He was talking to a corpse.

He tutted. "Weak." He leant backwards, tilting his head backwards to look at his other, unnerved generals. "Can you go work on that machine - the one that brings people back to life? I want him-" He gestured to the body he was sat on. "-to be my plaything."

He lay atop the corpse and whispered in its ear, "Daddy's gonna look after you. He's gonna look after you good."

* * *

Once upon a time, he'd been happy.

Once upon a time, he had a family.

Sure, it wasn't the family he'd been born to, but it was a family nonetheless.

But now, that family was separated, gone and missing, and he was left alone.

Yes, he had his wonderful, beautiful boyfriend, but Kai couldn't bear to look upon him - the argument had angered the both of them, and so he didn't want to see him, not just yet. It'd been a while, about six hours, since he left Karloff, Shadow and Zane's place, and he was hiding out in a restaurant, one of the few ones that was still running.

He was currently snacking out on some of the food in the kitchen - the chefs knew of his presence but did not mind. He'd tiredly wandered into the restaurant and the manager had taken him to the top floor, where he'd been placed in a bed, and ever since then, they kind of looked after him.

The door of the restaurant opened, the bell signaling to them a probable customer was entering. Curiosity taking over, he went to peer to see who it was, but one of the chefs walked in his line of sight to greet the customer.

"Ah, Neuro! It's been a while since we saw you! Haven't seen ya since before that bastard took over Ninjago and continued this damned apocalypse." The chef laughed heartily, and Kai could hear his boyfriend's adorable but nervous chuckles.

"Uh... Yeah..."

"Heheh, you've certainly grown - you've had a growth spurt, but then I suppose that's probably just my old eyes."

"Huh... Anyway, have you seen my boyfriend? Kai Smith? Spiky hair, amber eyes, fair/tan skin? Taller than me?" There was the sound of rustling paper, and Kai guessed Neuro was holding up a picture of him.

"Course he's taller than ya, it's not hard!" As the chef laughed, the ex-Fire Ninja heard Neuro make a noise which meant he was probably pouting - it was a cute noise, one of the reasons why he fell in love with the Mind Master. "Wow, that's a mighty fine drawing of 'im, kiddo, always did have a knack at drawin'."

"That doesn't answer my question," Neuro persisted huffily. As he tapped his foot impatiently, the sound echoed around the building. The boy sounded angry now, which scared Kai. "I don't remember you. I want my boyfriend." The unsheathing of a knife could be heard, and the noise seemed to stab into Kai's brain, bringing up horrible memories.

The chef gulped. "Kid, put the knife down. I know where your boyfriend is... But he's asked me not to reveal where he is."

"What?!" Neuro was definitely angry now. "Why not?!"

"Get the knife aw'y from my neck and I'll tell ya! Spinjitzu M'ster..." Both Neuro and the chef went silent; one of the chefs in the kitchen whispered to another, asking whether he should go check up on them.

"Where. Is. Kai?"

"He thinks you're angry with him... And from your reaction to me telling you, he has full reason to believe that."

Neuro was silent.

"Hey... Hey... No, don't cry..."

Then he began to sob, loudly and clearly. Kai bit his lip, wanting to reveal himself. One of the chefs, the one that had asked whether he should check on them, went into the other room.

"Sir, I need to ask you about the recipe. It'll take just a second." The younger chef dragged the chef who had been speaking to Neuro into the kitchen.

"Kai," The older chef began. "Do you want to be reunited with Neuro?" His voice was but a whisper so Neuro didn't hear. The Fire Master, tentative at first, nodded slowly. "Shall I bring him in here or do you want to come out?" Kai gestured for Neuro to come to where he was. "A'ight."

The chef left, going back to Neuro. "Neuro, follow me." He led the boy down the hall, moving out the way so the teen could see Kai. Immediately, the Mind Master choked down his tears and ran toward his boyfriend, going onto his knees and skidding the rest of the way and tightly embracing Kai.

"I've missed you so much!" Neuro sobbed, planting a kiss on the cheek of Kai. "Gosh, you're warm!" He looked scared. "Are you sick?"

"... I don't think so?" He then saw the belt and trench knives, and the staff - though at the moment, it was a gun - on Neuro's outfit, and smiled a little. "I see you got my present."

Neuro chuckled a little, looking at himself. "I think it looks good on me."

"It really does." Kai decided to give his boyfriend a kiss in return, this time on the lips, and his was just as brief as Neuro's. "I'm sorry for avoiding you. I was just so scared..."

"It's fine. You're fine. I'm not mad. I forgave you after you ran away."

"Ugh, ya g'ys and your love... We'll give ya food and drink and then you can haul your lil' asses outta here." Whether the chef was jokingly being mean or not was beyond the two sweethearts, but they didn't mind.

They ended up taking a whole bag of food and drink with them, though neither shop nor customers minded.

They had each other.

* * *

 _Before his career in prostitution ended, he had decided to find someone to take the job.  
_

 _"Uhh... No." The once-ghost pushed away the flier, raising an eyebrow. "I'm not gonna go fuck some random girls just so you and I can fill our pockets!"  
_

 _"You're looking for a job, and it pays well. It's not like this has any requirements - all it wants is someone who has a dick and can use it!"  
_

 _"I'm not doing it!"  
_

 _"Morro, please. You're going to die if you don't. You only have to pay me 10% of the money."  
_

 _"Why should I pay you anything at all?"  
_

 _"Cause you have a debt to pay off." His voice was cruel and reminding of what had happened long before the apocalypse.  
_

 _"Look, I-"  
_

 _"You've tried apologies before, and I said this before and I say this now - I'm not having any of it. You take this job, you pay me 10% of the cash you earn, you survive."  
_

 _The ex-ghost looked at the flier again. "That's a lotta money."  
_

 _"Mm hm. And 90% of it? Yours."  
_

 _"I'd like 100%..."  
_

 _"Then your debt will never be paid off... And I will stand by my promise." His hands were on the table now, eyes sharp and demanding. "You pay off my debt, or you become his next plaything. I have friends who can make it happen." Well, that was a blatant lie. "If you take this job, you pay off my debt but have to... well, you know. Don't take it, no debt paid, you're his toy and he's gonna break you. Either way, you're fucked - literally." He smirked a little at the ghost. "What's it gonna be, Morro?"  
_

 _Morro gulped. "You're forcing me into something I don't want to do."  
_

 _"I don't want to do this, but it's not like other jobs are going to let you work there. They tend to like humans more than ghosts... This job doesn't care. But neither does he..."  
_

 _"Fine, damn it! I'll take it!" Morro was visibly and audibly scared - he was shaking and stuttering and his voice was quivering and cracking. "I'll take this stupid job..._ _Just don't send me to him!"  
_

 _"I won't... As long as you pay." He rubbed his right thumb and right index finger together to symbolise money. He offered a smile to the ghost, which seemed rather silly now, considering the other was scared witless. "It was nice doing business with you." And with that, he left.  
_

 _"Did he take the job?" She instantly asked as he left the building. She had a bottle of water in her hand, sipping at it.  
_

 _"Took some persuasion, but, eventually, yes." He smiled at her. "He'll be paying our debt off pretty soon."_

* * *

 **A/N: Okay, so I know this took quite a while to write, but was it worth it or was it worth it?  
**

 **I mean, it probably wasn't, so...  
**

 **1234, I decided that I could use your idea of having someone be in that sort of career and decided that Morro could be doing it to pay off a debt. But to who...? And why...?  
**

 **Dun, dun, duuuuuun.  
**

 **Anyway, Kai and Neuro have been reunited, and gosh was it cute.  
**

 **So that girl who died (as well as her baby), Eliza, is indeed named after Eliza Schulyer/Hamilton from the musical Hamilton, and the general is named after Jason Dean - J.D - of Heathers.  
**

 **Man, this chapter has two references.  
**

 **I only wrote this because I had no Internet (and I wrote everything somewhere in the chapter about that guy's backstory [during the bit where he burns his lips with the coffee] to the end, aside from this author note.  
**

 **I wrote all that within one day! Actually, a couple hours! Pretty amazing, huh?  
**

 **I have an idea for the next chapter - I won't spoil it, but it's based off of a song... - so it shouldn't be long if I use the song as a base.  
**

 **Please review, they urge me to write and I'm always open to constructive criticism!  
**

 **Thank you for reading, and I hope the next chapter will be out soon. _  
_**


	15. A Sadness Runs Through Him

**A/N: I'M BACK!**

 **The chapter name should be a huge giveaway.**

 **This chapter is based off of A Sadness Runs Through Him, a song by The Hoosiers. Great song, gave me a load of ideas for this chapter.**

 **It's been a while since I've even looked at this fanfiction, and I'm sorry for taking so long - over six months. The laptop I was writing this on ended up failing on me, I had to get a new laptop, I couldn't find the USB I put this story on for ages until now and a lot happened regardless.**

 **I decided to change some things - the guy who is in control and causing all this will have his pronouns captialised from now on.**

 **So I'm going to say this now - I no longer identify as female (I can't remember if I told you guys that already). I am non binary and use they/them (but am also okay with he/him) as my pronouns and Soul/Tristan as my name. I am only out on the Internet and at school.**

 **Also, I've been thinking about starting a dubbed version of this fanfiction, but I don't have the abilities to make it. If anyone wants to make one for this story, feel free, and I'd be happy to contribute.**

 **I'll be focusing on Morro, Kai and Cole this chapter, and the chapter has themes such as kidnapping and prostitution.**

 **Go big or go home.**

 **Anyway, without further ado, I'm going to pick my pen (not literally, of course) and return to the fanfiction I so loved writing.**

* * *

 _Morro hated this place, whatever it was called. He equally hated how much debt he was in and how he was never out of debt._

 _His... oh, what's the word, the guy he had to pay his debt to (MC - massive cunt) was always adding money onto what he owed. "Oh, remember the time you did this to me? Well, you have to pay for that too, or I'll send you to Him." Sometimes the things were stupid little things or they didn't even happen - any resistance was met with threats._

 _Morro had the scars to show for it when he still dared to resist._

 _The building towered over him, almost laughing at his torment - "Ha! Ha! Ha! You're paying debt to someone who you once had control over! Weak! Stupid!"_

 _Pulling his hood over his head, he knocked on the door, three slow raps at a time. The door took a while getting answered and the ghost could hear yelling, some angry, some fearful and some painful._

 _This was where his newest job was. Yikes._

 _Maybe he should reconsider, beg MC to let him find another way to pay off the debt, but it was too late when he began to step away - the door was answered._

 _The man was middle aged and had platinum blonde hair. His sharp artic eyes glowered down into Morro's. "Are you hear to sell or buy?"_

 _After a brief conversation in which Morro explained about his debt to MC and how he was taking over MC's old job to pay it off, a sickly smile crossed the man's face as he fondly remembered MC. "Got a girl pregnant once, both she and the child died. She was my best customer. He told me that a replacement would come soon. Poor you, huh?"_

 _Grabbing him with a firm hand, the man dragged Morro inside and pushed him upstairs. "Go up there and ask for room nine. Your roommates will be in there already."_

 _"Huh? I'm not living here, I already have a home."_

 _"I was wondering where your stuff was. Nah, it's mandatory, all my employees have to live here, so that they can't go frolicking around and telling everyone about their work. Go upstairs, ask for room nine and choose a bed. Then, you're coming downstairs for some questions and to be officially hired."_

 _Morro didn't like the sound of this at all, but was wary about resistance and found himself trudging up the stairs._

 _A kid, probably about ten, was sat outside, flicking through papers. "Room?" He asked, licking his thumb to continue flicking, not looking at Morro._

 _"Um... Nine?"_

 _"Down the right, two doors down, first room on the left. Can get there from the bathroom through the secret door behind the towel rack. Furthest away from the kitchen. Four others in the room, all male. First recommendation of the boss. Usually for the newbies so they can get a taste for the job. Can get super crowded in there," the kid droned on, never once looking up._

 _After being told about his room, Morro had to ask again for the directions to the room before actually getting there._

 _There were indeed four others in the room - one was asleep, one was sitting on the floor and looking at nothing, one was singing (they sounded like they were crying) and the last one was yelling about something._

 _The beds were bunk beds and there were four. The asleep man, the singing man and the yelling man were sat on three of the top bunks, but the sitting man didn't seem to be on a top bunk bed - he was leaning on a bottom bunk, so perhaps it was his._

 _The sitting one pointed at Morro and mumbled a warning - "Get out, while you still can." - but the ghost was told to ignore him by the singing man, who decided to take the reins and tell Morro what to do._

 _"I'm guessing you're new here. You can have one of the bunk beds - you want top or bottom?"_

 _Morro found himself on a top bunk, sitting with the singing man who was no longer singing. "So, who are you guys?"_

 _"The sitting guy's Invizable - after the hospital got attacked, he's become numb and hollow, and he was sold to the boss for his uses. Clients complain about how he doesn't respond as enthusiastic as the others, so he rarely gets hired. He's been here a while but the boss can't be arsed to move him to room fifteen - that's where the traumatised folk go - or room twenty - the ones who don't usually get hired._

 _"The guy who's yelling is Gravis. He's been here a few months and needs to work here to get the money he needs for survival and he didn't have a home before this. He used to be an assassin but he lost his fighting arm and ended up here. He's been popular so far and makes a lot of money for the boss, but not enough to be moved to room one - that's the room for the real money-makers. 'pparently it's nicer there._

 _"The sleeping guy hasn't told anyone but the boss his name - we call him P. He has a reputation for falling asleep afterwards - he just had a client, trudged here and fell asleep immediately - and is usually hired out to people who are barely surviving. He was a virgin before he got here. He isn't very popular and has been here about a week so he hasn't been moved to room twenty yet, if ever."_

 _Morro was silent as he listened to the singing guy. "And... who are you?"_

 _Silence ensued._

 _"I'm Ronin."_

* * *

Most of his original roommates were gone, replaced and forgotten. Not by Morro though.

Invizable died after a few months of Morro's living there. Morro assumed the invisible man had a flashback, because he began to cry and scream and panic and then threw himself out the window. Wretch got tired of the agonised screaming outside his business and shot him. Morro had seen it happen - he peered out the window and was calling for help when he saw his boss go outside with a gun and shoot Invizable.

He could still hear the gunshot.

Gravis got moved to room one finally, just before Invizable got killed, and Morro never heard from him again. He didn't hear Wretch yelling for him, he didn't hear any clients coming up to choose him, he didn't hear about him being hired. It was as if he just disappeared from existence after being moved to the greatest room in the entire building. Morro asked no questions - he didn't hear from the man who did.

The entire business was freaky.

P escaped, the lucky bastard. It was a few days after Invizable's unfortunate fate. By stealing the pillows of the other two who'd left and using his own and throwing them into a pile, P managed to safely jump out the window and hobble to safety. He was the only one brave enough to go - Morro was still torn about Invizable and Ronin lived with Wretch, who decided to go back home that night with his favourite.

Morro got the blame and punishment.

After all of the deaths and disappearances and escapes, Wretch decided to keep Ronin at his home to ensure his favourite didn't leave. He barred all the windows, kept the doors locked and took away many of their belongings if they tried anything. If resistance continued, their food would be taken too. And then their privileges. And then they'd be put in the special room, which was probably the room where they'd die.

Morro decided to be good.

The door opened as the ghost lay on his bed (he'd moved to a bottom bunk now, no point of having a top bunk); with a glance, he noticed the one keeping him in debt, with a big smirk on his face. "Now you know how it feels. To be powerless. Powerless and alone."

"Why are you here?"

"I wanted to see if it was true. If you were so scared of me and Wretch that you became a good, dirty _slut_."

Morro flinched at the name given to him, but he didn't say anything in argument. No, Morro simply sat up and hugged his knees as he glowered at MC.

"Look, I've been in your position before, Morro, in despair and under the rule of a cruel bo-"

"I've seen people _die_. Did you see that?"

"Huh?"

"Wretch has shot people. I've heard the gunshots - I can't tell which ones are real and which ones are in my head - and I've seen him shoot one of my roommates..." The hug on his knees tightened and a lump grew in his throat. He wiped away salty tears with shaky breaths and hands. "And now they're going to kill me... I couldn't save them..."

"You can't save everyone, Morro." There was no sympathy in his voice, his tone callous. "And you're not the only one. You're stupid for thinking that." MC sighed. "Of course, did you ever care about someone other than yourself, Morro? You were quite happy to brush away the feelings and pain of others, including me, but as soon as something happens to you." Bringing a fist to his eyes and bending his knees slightly, MC then pretended to cry, trying to not laugh. "Well, boohoo, Morro, boohoo. You fucked up real good, and now you're a dirty little slut to pay off my debt. And guess what - just like the consequences of what you did to me, the debt's just gonna keep growing!" He walked toward Morro, laughing at him, with rage in his eyes.

Wretch interrupted his rant, walking in before MC even laid a finger on Morro, who was trying to scramble away. "Have you made your choice?"

As MC nodded, Morro paled.

MC was a client.

And he chose Morro.

* * *

Kai held a sleeping Neuro close, unable to sleep due to thought. Clancee slept near them, but not so near to make it weird.

"We should probably move at some point," Kai murmured to himself, looking around the room. "A lot's happened here..." Kai moved from his position to stand. "Hm... I'm going to try go back to that shop where we found Zane." He wouldn't be long, he assured himself, so there'd be no point in writing a note. He took his weapon and took Ezekiel's beret (Clancee had informed him about the knives inside it) just in case - better safe than sorry.

The cold wind of night struck his face as he opened the door - he didn't waste time getting used to it. Kai left the door open as he ran out, towards the shop, wielding weapons. There were neither robots nor cyborgs patrolling the streets that night, which was a relief. The shop was in view, its sign glowing OPEN. His running tired him, so he trudged to the door and weakly pushed the door, the bell ringing. The food was still there, most of it rotten but some gloriously edible. He stole a carrier bag and emptied everything okay to eat into it, singing.

He stopped when the bell rung.

Kai ducked away from sight but dared a glimpse at the door. Black clothes, black hair, dark skin. It couldn't be.

"Great, everything's rotten. I'll have to tell Sensei to get someone to replenish the food, if that's possible."

Oh God, it was.

Kai tiptoed toward the door, hoping the black clad person didn't come down the aisle, knees quivering. The bag heaved, begging its owner to relieve it of the burden of all the food it bore. The person moved into the aisle he'd been in, and Kai made a break for it, trying to push the door open before remembering that it was a pull door from inside.

He legged it, weapons in their sheathes and so useless, panting. He didn't make it far before his ankle got impaled by a knife; with a pained yell for help, Kai fell to the floor, clutching the bag to himself. Blood was everywhere and, even though it was just from the foot, it looked like there was a lot. The pain was paralysing and dizzying.

"I would have never thought you'd be living like this, Kai," said the black clad male, huskily chuckling. "We all thought you died. We thought you'd left to kill yourself."

"C-C-C-C..."

"I'm sorry it's come to this, but Sensei has words for you. I'll let you keep the food, we have plenty, but you're coming with me." His arms were pinned to his back as he was lifted up. "Perhaps you'll even be allowed to return."

Kai tried to weakly grab for the floor, murmuring resistance.

"I know plenty of people who won't even dare resist, Kai. You're one of the lucky few."

That was the last thing he heard.

* * *

Save girls from prostitution? That was fine with him.

Burn down a building to save Ronin? Sure, he could do that.

Kidnap one of his former honorary brothers? All right, it could be done.

Join Toxikita's army? Uh, no. No way in Hell. He'd rather kill people.

Maybe if he did more tasks, Sensei would let him off of joining the army of brutes. If he performed well enough, maybe Wu would realise that he didn't need to join an army of murderers to save people.

"Sensei?" He called out, almost hesitant. "I brought Kai."

As if emerging from the shadows, the old man approached him, seeing the red clad male over his shoulder. "Place him on one of the old beds - how did you find him?"

"He was getting food for his group, I think, and tried to run away from me. I had to hit him in the ankle to stop him from getting away - he passed out on the way. Do you want me to take his weapons off him?"

"To take a man's weapons away is to take away his life. No, not yet, Cole. If he tries to attack us, feel free to confiscate his weapons." With a quick glance at Kai, who seemed to be little more than a rabid animal to him, Wu walked away to return his tea.

Cole carried out his Sensei's orders, laying Kai on his old bed, dressing his injury and laying the weapons on his person on another bed, which he sat on. As Cole absent-mindedly pinched and stroked the covers, he yearned for the days of happiness. Back when they were a group. Back when they worked together to save everyone. Back when they were a family.

Kai began to stir as Cole wistfully thought of the olden days, and the Earth Ninja looked up. "You're awake then, huh?"

"My... my weapons..."

"We haven't taken them for now, Kai. They're beside me, on the bed."

"Cole...?"

"Yes, Kai, it's me... Cole. Your honorary brother, remember?" He moved to sit on Kai's bed.

"Why am I here?!" Kai suddenly shot up with a sharp gasp. "You... You stabbed me in the ankle!"

"I dressed it, don't worry. You'll be fine." Cole waved it off. "And anyway, Sensei just wants to talk to you. We thought you were _dead_ , Kai." He wrung his fingers between each other, not making eye contact with him. "When you left, everyone thought you'd killed yourself, or at least left us so you could." Cole edged his hand forward into Kai's, his fingers pulling Kai's palm close to his own. "You know how that felt?"

"I..."

"We're just glad you're alive. We've already lost someone, we didn't want to lose another."

"Am I why the team split up?" Kai's voice was barely a whisper, and was followed by a hesitant gulp.

"I don't know why we all split up. But you weren't the cause." Cole moved forward slightly, his face very in front of Kai's. "You understand that?" The door swung open to reveal Wu with three cups of tea, a towel and other bottles - Kai assumed it was medicine. "I suppose you're here to interrogate Kai, Sensei." The assumption was not only understandable (in Cole's eyes anyway) but correct, confirmed by a nod. "Should I leave, or do you want me to he-?"

"No, Cole," Wu interrupted, sipping his tea. "I need you to help me make sure Kai answers." Something about the sentence Kai found eerie; Cole's simple reply (just a nod and a smile) made the creepiness worse. "Thank you, Cole." It was now he turned to Kai again. "So Kai, shall we begin?"

* * *

Morro lay in bed, staring up at the man keeping in debt who was on all fours over him. What was that in his eyes?

Lust?

Love?

Anger?

Satisfaction?

"I'm done," MC said after a moment's silence, eyes staring with the indescribable emotion still remaining there. He got up into a kneel before casting his gaze elsewhere, getting out of the bed and putting on his clothes. "I'll give the money to your boss, and he'll pay you. Then-" MC chuckled to himself. "You'll pay my debt."

"You profit out of this."

"Of course. It's a profitable business - you get some action and, if you're doing it right, some money. I'm taking your wallet by the way."

"Excuse me?!"

MC held up a leather brown wallet, only now turning back to look at Morro, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "You won't be needing it. You get food here-" The food was in small portions, nearly out of date and was tasteless. "-you get shelter-" You were also sold to anyone and if your boss wanted something, you gave it. "-and you're not alone." Most of the others were too withdrawn or broken to talk to you, and it rubbed off on you. "Why would you need to buy things?"

"I want to escape. I want to leave." Morro tore his eyes away now. "I hate this job. People are rough, Wre- the boss is abusive and cruel and he encourages others to mimic his attitude as well. We're objects, now. You were in my position once - can't you help me?" Tears choked his voice as he spoke, and he wrung his hands between each other.

"... You have to pay off my debt."

"FUCK YOUR DEBT! WHAT I DID WAS IN THE PAST! WE'RE DYING AND YOU'RE FORCING ME TO PAY FOR SOMETHING I DID YEARS AGO!"

"I was considering getting someone to bust you out but if you're so insistent to not pay off my debt, I guess I could just leave you here until you get enough money to bust yourself out." MC stood up after finally pulling on his boots. "You know what? I'll make a deal with you. You can decide to not pay off my debt and rot in this hellhole or bust yourself out when you're able to. Though, if you get hired enough, you'll probably be too weak to even stand, you know what I mean?" MC chuckled as he sauntered to the door, throwing a glance at the scowling ex-ghost.

"You're sick."

"I haven't finished. You could also decide to pay off my debt and I'll hire someone for you to get you, and perhaps everyone else, of here." He put his hand on the door handle, staring at the wood for a moment's pause. "There's just one question I need to ask you if you're taking the second route."

The two made eye contact, MC's with no emotion and Morro's with so much.

"Do you want Wrench _dead_?"

* * *

Kai very much regretted lying about whether he lived alone or not. He was certain Cole had reopened the wound on his ankle as he pulled the ex-Fire Ninja's legs over his body and pressed them onto him. "Stop it! That hurts!"

"Why did you find it necessary to lie, Kai? We're not going to hurt them, or do anything. We just wanted to make sure you weren't taking all this food for yourself."

Sensei made it sound as if he had entire bags full of food, but he had barely half a bag.

"Why do you need so much food if it's for one person? If you're taking all that food for yourself, we might have to take it awa-"

"I live with Neuro and Clancee! I live with two other people! Okay, okay, I said it, please let me go."

"Let him go, Cole." The Earth Ninja released Kai from the grip and put another bandage on the ankle. "Now, why did you lie to us, Kai, and make us have to do that for the truth?"

"I don't trust you. You kidnap me and you hurt me and I've heard what Cole's done!"

"Saved many lives like Ronin's, and spared the life of your Neuro."

"What?"

"Of course, Neuro won't remember, thanks to Cole. Anyway, onto our next question. A refusal to answer or an incorrect answer will cause us to go to desperate measures to get the truth, similar or worse than last question's. Please answer truthfully, or we will have to assure your answer is honest."

Kai glowered but nodded and then gulped.

"How do you get your money?"

"My what?"

"The money you use to purchase things, such as weapons, food that you don't steal and workers. Do you have a job?"

"No, I don't have a job."

"Do you pickpocket people or loot corpses?"

"Sometimes, if I'm able to."

"Does Neuro have a job?"

"He used to, I think, because I've found money in his bag and pocket." He knew that Neuro once had a job, before the amnesia.

"What about Clancee?"

"I have no idea. He usually stays with Neuro and I and I haven't seen him working anywhere. I think he was trying to unite the group of pirates, Nadakhan's crew, but two of them died a while ago, so he stays with us."

"He tried to reunite his band of pirates?"

"Yeah." Kai then added hastily, "But two of them died, so his mission is impossible. He's given up, he's harmless, he's on our side."

"We'll be the judge of that, Kai. Now, hopefully you'll be just as cooperative as you were with the previous question with our last few questions."

The questions were invasive and the tortures brutal. They assured his answers were honest through agony, insisting that they weren't really doing anything bad - "We haven't _killed_ you or caused any major injuries that will cripple you. Your answers will benefit us and we can work to make our city a good place again."

The last question was the cruellest.

"Will you return to us, Kai, to continue your training?"

"Fuck no!" Kai's answer was honest, but not what they wanted to hear. With a nod, Sensei signalled for Cole to continue the torture.

Cole took off the bandage on the Fire Master's foot, bent his legs over his body and pressed down, pulled his head back and then reached for the second cup of tea and towel. Spreading the towel over Kai's face, he poured the tea (which had cooled slightly now) over it, ignoring Kai's screams and chokes. When the tea was finished, he took the third cup and did the same - the tea had not cooled at all, as it was made hotter than the other. Now Cole took the bottles and began to pour them out onto the wound and Kai began to scream and squirm and beg for mercy.

"Cole, don't use all the antiseptics and go make some more tea." With that command, Cole left the room. Kai lay there, panting and crying, agony coursing through him.

"We just want the truth, Kai. We just want what's best for you."

"Ha... Cause pouring whatever that was on my wound was best for me..."

"Do you want to live in a world in this state?"

"I'd rather live and die in this world then train with you, you psychopath!" Kai hissed before yelling as Wu grabbed his hurt ankle.

"Don't be rude to me, Kai. Now, will you return to us, Kai, to continue your training? It will benefit the world a lot. You and Neuro could live here with us and learn to harness your Element fully. You could bring all of the Element Masters that you know of to live with us, and I shall train them to become strong. We will rid the city of the tyrant. Not through death, but through healing. Together we can make the city great again, and we can go back to the olden days."

Kai went very silent for a moment, almost considering it. He ignored the look in Wu's eyes. What was that in his eyes?

Hope?

Abhorrence?

Bitterness?

Trust?

"No."

Whatever it was, it became confusion and then rage. _"What?"_

"You don't really think we can ever go back? Someone died, Sensei. So many people have gone. There's no going back. Unless we can bring everyone back, nothing will ever be normal. Even those who haven't died have been scarred. Some have been so traumatised they've lost their memories. Don't even get me started on how our morals are dead and how our mentalities have changed. We can _never_ go back. We've trained ourselves to _kill_ and we'll never undo that. I'm sorry, Sensei, but you can't do anything. We've changed too much to be able to just switch back to normal. There's no point in trying. No one can ever win." Kai tried to not cry, but to no avail. "Everything you're doing is for nothing, and the sooner you accept that, the better."

"I'm not the only one trying to change the world. Toxikita's army, they're doing the same thing, but in more brutish ways. They murder, pillage and destroy. I'm sending Cole there so he can assist but also help them see that there is no reason for their cruelty. Even if you will not help us, we will change the world. One day, Kai, I will prove you wrong."

Cole finally returned, ignoring Kai's violent flinch away when he saw the tea.

"So, Kai," Cole spoke now. "Will you return to us to continue your training?"

"No."

Cole's eyes widened when his mentor responded instead. "Sensei, I thought th-"

"You thought wrong, Cole. Kai has other duties to carry out, duties I was unaware of before. He, as of now, is unable to help us. He will not be joining us to continue his training. Help him heal and bandage his wound, Cole, and then take him home. I want to talk to you outside."

With that, he left, taking Cole with him.

* * *

 _"Kill Clancee."_

* * *

Cole didn't want to join Toxikita's army. Why was his mentor forcing him to do this? How would this benefit him? How would it benefit anyone?

But Cole couldn't question Wu - the torture that happened to Kai was not restricted to just Kai - and so he had to try and convince him out of it with well done missions and obedience. Perhaps then Sensei Wu would realise that he'd be throwing away an amazing student and would choose to keep him.

What if he got replaced? What if Wu took in another student and taught them what he taught Cole and they were better than him? What if they were more loyal, what if they were quicker, what if they were more obedient? What if they were favoured by Sensei so much that he forgot about him?

That couldn't happen if Cole never left. Cole couldn't let himself be replaced.

He didn't ask about a replacement when Sensei told him that he was to kill Clancee for trying to reunite the group of pirates who once terrorised Ninjago. He just smiled and nodded.

"After that, I will anonymously send Toxikita a message about a new recruit that will meet her outside Chen's Noodle House later today. You will then join her army and tell her that I sent you. Explain that you will not kill anyone but that you are able to do serious damage without fatal injuries to people. You will then convince people to follow your route. If you are successful, you shall overthrow Toxikita and become an army that won't kill. Do not kill Toxikita. Just... break her."

Cole smiled and nodded.

He didn't ask about a replacement.

"Do you understand?"

No questions about a replacement, he smiled and nodded.

"Yes Sensei."

* * *

 **A/N: Sorry this took so long, you guys, but hopefully it was worth the wait.**

 **Eight months... heh. Sorry.**

 **I really loved writing this fanfiction - it was so brutal and dark, and the reviews were positive. It inspired me to put dark, serious (and interesting!) themes in my book series, The Blood Series (follow its Tumblr blog at the-blood-series).**

 **So I returned with prostitution, torture and Cole. Doesn't that go well together, huh?**

 **I hope you enjoyed reading this and that you forgive me for taking so long to write this. It actually only took a few days - the eight months were due to lack of motivation and a new laptop.**

 **Anyway, so, like I said in the first A/N - I am non binary (they/them but he/him is fine). I use two names - Soul and Tristan. Tristan is the name I want to legally change it to, Soul is the name I want as my middle name (spelt Sol) and is my nickname.**

 **Thank you all for understanding.**

 **~Soul.**


	16. Stone, Callous and Bone

**A/N: I was barely motivated to write this. It might have been the lack of reviews but I don't know.**

 **Anyway, I'm doing writing commissions on Tumblr now. If you want to check those out, my main is ihavenosoul12 - they're under the tag 'writing commissions'.**

 **I'm also considering turning this into an original story - replace the characters, some scenes, rewrite some of it, etc., etc., and publish it. It will be my first book, because it's not going to take as long as The Blood Series, and it'll help me find a publisher that works with me. The cons are that the readers won't have anything to compare the new versions of the characters to, as they'll be fresh and new, and I will have to change a lot of the fanfiction to avoid copyright.**

 **Should I do this? I'd really love some feedback. If I do, it'd be after the fanfiction itself is finished.**

 **Anyway, on with the story!**

* * *

Cole waited against the noodle house he and the Ninja once went to after the demise of Zane, leaning against its crumbling walls. Every so often, he'd nervously fiddle with his scythe, twirling it around carelessly, or smash it into the wall in irritance, worsening its state.

Toxikita was nowhere to be seen. All he could see was the odd person walking around - there didn't appear to be many robots or cyborgs around as of recently, which maybe meant they were running out of resources to build them with.

That may mean He may send out His workers, and that was never good.

"Were you the guy sent for Tox's army?" Cole turned around to look at the speaker - a purple haired girl with dark blue eyes and crossed arms.

"Camille?"

"Were you the guy sent for Tox's army?"

Cole nodded, rolling his eyes at her refusal to answer his own question (if it was one). "I am, yes. And are you Camille? I thought I was meeting Toxikita to join her army."

Camille laughed, husky and deep, briefly. "Tox doesn't have time to meet new recruits. She wasn't gonna make time for you, even if we knew it was you." She then chuckled again. "And anyway, why you suddenly helping now? Don't you usually go gallavanting around, saving whores?"

Cole's knuckles turned to white as his fists tightened. "They aren't whores - they were tricked into it usually. Give them some slack."

"They shoulda come to Tox first to join her army. Woulda saved them a lotta trouble." She sighed, shaking her head. "You didn't answer my question. Why you suddenly helping now?"

Cole kicked his foot back and forth with a sigh. "Sensei Wu insisted I had duties to do in your army, that I'd be of more use with you guys. He thought I'd be of use to you." He straightened his back with a sigh, moving toward Camille, dragging his scythe. A smirk appeared on his face as she instinctively moved back. Her sass turned to anxiety. "But you know what I think?"

"No, and I don't wanna know," she shot back, words sharp yet through her teeth.

"I think that Sensei's full of shit, and that you guys are barely human. You're barbarians, going around and killing people to get your goals, which barely affect anyone."

Camille chuckled, stepping forward. "What, you're 'ere to show us the light and stop us killing?"

"I'll die trying."

"Cute. I suppose you'll wanna get to our headquarters, meet the lady herself. And put the scythe away, calm down. I thought you weren't a fighter."

"I don't kill, but nothing else is off limits. Maiming, torturing, threatening, the odd amnesia victim. Murder is the only thing I'm not allowed to do."

"Irrelevant, put the scythe away, or I'll confiscate it."

"I'm a Ninja, you can't just ta- hey!" He reached out for his scythe. "You can just take a man's weapon!"

"Can, will. If it'll stop you being fiesty and shut you up, I can do whatever I want. Give you brain damage or maim you. Whatever I want."

"I'm guessing you're allowed to murder?"

"You learn fast. Now get to it - Tox doesn't like dawdling."

* * *

"Where did he go?!" Neuro was darting up stairs and rushing down them again, hiccupping tears as he called Kai's name.

"He probably went out to get something - maybe a present or some more food - or to see someone, and he just forgot to leave a note." _Perhaps he got held up_ , Clancee thought, but he didn't say that. "I'm sure it'll be fine, Neuro."

He had to keep saying it, having to raise his voice as Neuro stomped around the house, yelling his boyfriend's name. Clancee ended up giving up. "You kids and your relationships."

Neuro paused to scowl, and to breathe. He was flushed and leaning over, hands on his knees. "He's not in the house."

"I thought that was clear the other twenty times you checked."

"Piss off."

"Look, he was here last night - maybe we can still find him. He might have just gotten lost. He's an idiot, you know how he is."

"Only I can call my boyfriend an idiot." Neuro scrunched up his face. "But you're right - maybe he just got lost or something else." Neuro giggled, running a hand through his hair. "Only he could do something so stupid." His face flushed again, but he had enough breath, and it was only when he got the look of fondness and adoration in his eyes that Clancee realised why his face was red.

"You kids and your relationships."

"I bet you had someone once," Neuro shot back, flashing a smirk.

"We all did, before... this happened." Clancee chuckled. "Me? I 'ad my crew - Beatrix, Ezekiel, Monkey Wretch, Flintlocke and our captain, Nadakhan and his girl. We were a family - not the best one, but a better one than most." And then he sighed. "But..." He shook his head. "It's all in the past, years ago. So we shouldn't think about that."

Neuro frowned, the love lost from his eyes and the moment shattered. His lips twisted uncomfortably, his head crooked. "You don't think Kai is okay, do you?" His voice was a whisper but choked up.

"Kai will be just fine. He's not one to let himself get into danger. I'm just worried about the other guy, if he got into a fight." Neuro's features brightened as the snake spoke, and he nodded gently along with Clancee.

"Yeah... yeah... Kai'd never let himself lose." Neuro stood up straight, eyes almost shining. "Come on, let's go find him!" He took his gifted weapons, the ones Kai had given him, and left the building almost eagerly, scanning the streets before guessing which way to go and rushing off in that direction, calling Kai's name.

"You kids and your relationships."

* * *

Kai didn't remember being put on the bench - he remembered Wu leaving and taking Cole to talk with him and then lying in his old bed when he was a Ninja. And now, with his weapons and food tightly bound in a bag - a bag that was not his own but sturdier than any of his own - and in his arms. He weakly opened his eyes as they adjusted to the sun's bright light; he grinned, almost delusional. "Sunlight," he managed to say, his voice a husk. "Haven't seen that for... for long time." He found himself hacking up, leaning over the bench side and retching.

He lifted his foot, remembering the injury on his ankle.

His ankle.

It was gone.

His entire foot was gone.

"BASTARDS!"

Did Sensei and Cole cut it off or did some sick freak cut it off for their own benefit? One thing mattered - Kai only had one foot now.

He hoped Neuro didn't find him like this.

Kai swung his legs over the side of the bench, wincing at the head-and-backache that came as he did, the movement sickening him. "Oh, I'm going to be sick..." And he was.

"Here, here, young man, take this napkin." A man, probably only about five to ten years older, pressed a napkin against his lips; Kai struggled and made a fuss about how he wasn't going to let him take him, but the man continued until the realisation struck. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry, you must have been a young man taken by someone who used a napkin against you." The man gingerly pulled his fingers away, letting Kai hold the napkin. "Wipe your mouth on the napkin, there's sick all over it. Can you walk - I need to get you safe?"

Kai tried to stammer out that no, he couldn't, his ankle, his damn ankle, but it came out through distraught tears and hiccups.

"Oh my gosh, your ankle! Have you just lost it?"

Kai nodded, leaning against the man, wary of the dangers but uncaring all the same.

"Did you need it cut off?"

He shrugged.

"Do you know who cut it off?"

He shook his head.

"Right, we'll get you to my friend's. He'll be able to get you a good replacement and you'll be walking, good as new." He heaved Kai's arm over his shoulder, Kai's bag on the other, and helped him limp in the direction. "Right, do you have someone you need to tell where you are?"

Kai shook his head - it was easier to lie and hope Neuro found him. The man nodded and continued to help Kai walk. "You see the little cottage over there? Well that's where we're going - not in the cottage itself, but there's a little bunker where we'll give you your new foot. Then, we'll give you some food and some parting gifts. Are you sure you haven't got anyone?"

"KAI!" He straightened when he heard Neuro, half surprised, half overjoyed. "Get off him!"

"Neuro, Neuro, it's fine! He's helping me!" Kai tried to twist toward Neuro, but the man insisted that he needed to get the cottage to fix his foot. "I can't explain right now, okay?" He began to limp away, leaning on the stranger helping him. "I'll explain later."

"Kai... Where's your foot?" The penny dropped. While Kai didn't turn around, he could imagine the horror on Neuro's face. He bit his lip and continued to limp.

"I'll explain later, okay?"

"No, I need to know. What happened to your foot?"

"You can come with us," the man said hurriedly, a nervous tone in his voice. "He can tell you while my friend and I fit him with a new foot, I'm sure the atmosphere will be calmer." He didn't stop moving. "We're just going to a bunker behind the cottage over there, please be patient."

Neuro, shaking, reluctantly nodded and moved to walk alongside his boyfriend. Clancee lingered behind, silent.

"You should just be lucky whoever did this had the decency to clean the wound so you didn't bleed out and die." Was that mean to calm them down and make them feel better? It really didn't work.

"I suppose."

"Not long to go, don't worry. We can weaponise the prosthetic if you like, what with the situation we're in, heh..." The man then saw Neuro's face. "Look, he's going to be fine. We're professionals, we grew up doing this. Your friend is going to be okay."

"He better be."

* * *

"Do you want Wretch _dead_?"

Morro and MC stared each other, one with conflicting feelings, one without them. Morro nervously wrung his hands, looking away from the judgemental eyes, and bit his lip.

"Do you?" MC repeated, voice crueller. "Because he'll end up that way if you chose to get busted out." His hand left the handle to rest on his hip, and MC leant on the door. "I would understand why - he did this to you, had you watch people die, had you perform... duties for peopl-"

"You put me up to this! To pay off your debt! So you're just as bad."

"You think about laying a finger on me, I'll break your arms," MC warned. "You haven't answered my question, anyway - do you want to not pay my debt and rot in here, or will you pay my debt so that I can get someone to bust you out?" He cracked his knuckles and smirked. "What's it going to be, Morro?"

The ex-ghost tugged the covers over him and turned to face the wall.

"Oh Morro, don't turn away. Answer my question."

"I don't know."

"It's a yes or no question, Morro." MC finally left the door, returning to the bed and to Morro, sitting atop the covers.

"I said, I don't know. Not yet." He sat up. "We need a way of contact, a way for me to tell you when I have an answer." He shoved away MC's hand when it tried to touch his shoulder. "We can't use phones, the windows are barred so we can't use that kind of messaging, Wretch reads everything that comes into the house and everything that goes out an-"

"Your session with Morro has been long over. Any longer and you'll have to pay me again." Wretch smiled, but he wasn't joking and it was at MC directly. "I'll give you two minutes to finish up and then I'm charging you extra." He shut the door. He opened it again and said his client's name. "Dress Morro for me. You undressed him, you can put his clothes back on." Any clothes that were left on the floor, whether they were his or not, were regarded as Morro's and he was to clean up. He didn't say this, but it was known by both of them. He smiled and nodded. "Thanks." He shut the door.

MC sighed and began to help Morro into his clothes after pulling him out of the bed. As he did, he said, "I'll be hiring you every week, to 'relax' I'll tell Wretch. It'll be so I can ask you the question every week. Until you know, I'll keep coming. And you... You'll keep coming too." He tapped Morro's scrunched up nose with a chuckle, leaving Morro's shirt unbuttoned. Other than that, he was dressed. "Now, I don't want to waste any money so..." With a tug of the cheeks, MC pulled Morro onto his lips, sealing the air between them. His arms creeped behind his back and pressed Morro's uncovered chest into his own, a claim of dominance, a claim of ownership.

Morro did not fight it.

The door's creak and Wretch's husky chuckle alerted them to his boss' return.

"Don't let it be Eliza all over again. Come on, now, you don't want to pay extra, do you?"

MC pulled away. "Keep his shirt unbuttoned - he's more attractive that way." He smirked. "Thank you for being of service, Morro. I will see you next week."

"Wait, what?"

"Oh! I haven't told you, have I, Mr Wretch...?" MC and Wretch left the room, the business' boss slamming the door shut on Morro. While the conversation presumably continued, it was made incoherent by the door's barrier.

Morro wiped the remaining spit of MC's lips of his mouth as he got back into bed, sore.

Every week, a session of... that, with... him. It was enough to make him sick. And he was.

"Good news, Morro! Your little client was so impressed with you that he's decided to come visit weekly for a session!"

Every week, a session of that with him. He wasn't even getting paid, not really - Wretch would pay him for the job but then Morro would have to pay that money to MC for his debt.

"Oh, and Morro? Clean up that sick. Even if you're dirty, your room shouldn't be." The door slammed again.

And Morro cried.

* * *

"Here we are - Tox's HQ, our headquarter's, whatever you wanna... call it. Most of us call it home." The walls were a soft beige, the room itself wide and long. The doors, battered

"Cheesy."

"Cheesy but true. Some of us were rescued from Him, some of us were rescued from corrupt bosses and some of us came here to help." She paused outside a door. "That door leads to the hall that leads to our rooms. Tox is at the end, she sleeps alone and is nearest our infirmary. The hall also leads to the hall to the infirmary." She continued. "It probably won't concern you, since you'll be living with your Sensei, rig-"

"Actually, he insisted I 'get out' and stay here."

"Oh great. Well, you'll be assigned to a room where you'll have a bed, some room for your stuff and five other roommates. Usually, they'll be the same gender as you, but if needed, it'll be mixed." Camille continued and walked past the doors. She opened another and threw his scythe in there. "That's the weapon cabinet - all the weapons belong to you. We basically use any weapon we want." She slammed the door shut and then continued the tour - or, at least, was about to.

Toxikita emerged from a door opposite, holding pieces of paper and putting them on a nearby desk. She looked up at Camille and smiled at her, walking over to her. "Heya Cam - I'm assuming this is our newest recruit?"

Cole decided to step in with a brief 'hello'. Tox smirked. "We've never had a Ninja before - you're Cole, right? The Earth Ninja? You were on Chen's island, weren't ya, and you lost, right?"

"Don't remind me." Cole rolled his eyes. "But yeah, that's me."

"Why are you here?" She rested her arm on Camille's shoulder, chucking at the purple girl's eye roll.

"My sensei insisted I'd be of more use here, though you seem to be managing fine on your own." He was about to continue that statement when Camille interrupted.

"Cole and his sensei, Sensei Wu, don't kill people, and Wu sent him to convince us not to kill." She glowered at Cole with beady, purple eyes, and then turned back to Tox, who was scowling.

She chuckled as she asked, "If you don't _hurt_ anybody, because of morals or whatever, why are you being sent to an army?"

"Oh, I do hurt. I just don't kill. To kill is to supply the tyrant, so I've been instructed to not kill. Everything else is fine, though." He smirked, puffing his chest out and lifting his chin.

"And 'everything else' is...?" She raised an eyebrow, looking at the new recruit and then Camille.

"Oh, maiming, torturing, giving people amnesia, threatening, anything you can think of. That's really all I can remember at the moment. If they die, it's not my fault because I didn't intend them to die. Like, if they burn alive in a fire I set, not my problem. Commit suicide because of my torture, I didn't tell them to."

"So you just don't directly murder people? You just send them toward their death."

"I guess you could say that." Cole would have lifted his chin more but he'd end up snapping his neck.

"That's kind of fucked up, Cole," Camille said, eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed, mouth ajar with disgust.

"It's what we need." Toxikita spoke with reluctance, not meeting Cole or Camille's eyes. "He's able to interrogate traitors without remorse. And we supply Him with corpses to turn into robots, whereas Cole doesn't. We _can't_ stop killing, especially the huge threats, but Cole can help with that." She smiled to herself. "Sensei Wu was smart to send you, but we won't stop killing. We have to."

Cole scowled. "Fine. I'll take that for now." His smirk returned to his face. "Thank you for realising my uses." He bowed mockingly. "Now, show me where I'll be staying. I'll be getting my stuff tomor-"

"We have a certain criteria for clothing so we have a uniform, both when on a mission and staying here. The working uniform is required as it carries many spaces to put weapons such as swords, scythes, rifles and other big weapons but also able to conceal smaller weapons like trench knives, daggers and pistols. The home uniform is to make sure that, if you leave the building, it's clear to everyone that you are a part of my army. It advertises the army. You will be allowed a few belongings, but most of them are to be left behind. It's to keep space for everything and to make sure nothing gets cluttered. If you're out on missions a lot, you won't have time to admire your possessions." Tox smiled. "And you are free to quit if the army's not the place for you."

Cole raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Fine. What kind of things can I keep?"

"Photos, things that link to precious memories, any medicine you may need, anything you need to cope with our surroundings, pillow cases, blankets and duvets. Nothing too big, should be able to fit on a square desk."

He continued to nod. "Makes sense." He nodded until he was dizzied. "Is there anything I need to know?"

"Yes. Letters come every week - we got one for you before you came. It's in my pile of papers. Let me go get it - Camille can take you to your room while I do that." Toxikita turned to Camille. "Room five, the bunk beds on the left, bottom bunk."

"I'll take you to your room so you can make yourself comfortable."

* * *

The procedure was relatively painless, but Kai found himself twitching and twisting away. Neuro, antsy, watched, shuffling. Clancee sat beside him, trying to talk to him; it was painful to watch, Clancee having a one sided conversation, and it might have drowned out the pain from having the prosthetic sown onto him.

Choosing one that kept Kai at his height, didn't make him limp awkwardly and went well with his attire was less difficult than they'd thought, since he was the average height. His new boot was simple - it had thick soles that contain spikes that he could eject by thumping the heel on the floor. The spikes could extend; they'd shrink down to a size that fit inside the sole. It looked like a normal boot, except it was literally sown onto his skin.

The man's friend was sowing the boot onto the stump, looking up at Kai to make sure he wasn't in pain every now and then. The man who took Kai to the cottage bunker was watching nervously, and Kai, out of boredom, took in his attire - he was wearing a beige-grey uniform with a belt across it, resting on his shoulder and merging into a belt at his waist. His trousers were black and he wore beige loafers with brown laces. On his head, he wore a hat that looked like a cross between a beret and a fedora.

Only now did Kai really look at this man. A scar ran through his right eye, and that eye was white and milky, so he must have been blind in that eye, but the other eye was fine. Both eyes were icy blue. Curly blonde hair poked out of his hat and gave him a slight fringe, a lock curling down to the bridge of his nose.

When the man looked to him, Kai realised he was staring and looked at the one sowing his prosthetic. This guy was the absolute opposite - his left eye had an eyepatch and a barely visible scar, but his right eye was fine. He had dark brown eyes and dark brown hair to match his complexion, but it was straight. Despite this, he wore the exact same outfit as the other men. He was whistling a happy tune to himself, slowly, as if it were a lullaby. The blonde's mouth twitched into a smile, mentioning how it was his favourite song. The man doing the sowing smiled, informing the other that he knew.

"So, who are you?" Before Kai could ask the very same thing, Clancee spoke up.

"I'm P," the blonde man said. "And my friend here is X. We used to use them when we were kids, so we decided to use them again now." He chuckled.

Neuro began to get out some money, but X turned it down.

"We don't want to charge you anything - this young man was in need of a foot, and I happened to stumble upon him. I've been in a vulnerable position before, so I'm not going to make him pay for something he needs." P smiled at Kai.

"And... done." X affirmed the completion with a nod. "Do you want to try it out?" P offered a hand to Kai to help him up. "Try walking around with it and try to eject the spikes." Kai nodded and slowly stood up, wobbling a little. He thought the boot would be heavier, but it was as if it was always there. "Fully adjusting will take a while, but I'm sure you'll be walking with it easily in no time."

Clancee chuckled. "We appreciate the optimism," he said, stuttering. "So, what the uniforms for?"

"Hm? Oh, we do the prosthetic work for Toxikita's army and. like everyone else, try to recruit people. The second tends to be violent and usually results in kidnapping, so we tend to go out and look for people who are in need. Such as this young man here. All our services are free, and joining Toxikita's army gives you a place to say." P lifted his hands at an accusing look from Neuro, whose hand was on one of his trench knives. "I don't meant to advertise - I'm just saying. I'm sure you're able to look after yourselves."

"No, actually, we've done quite well. Got enough food for all of us, though it might run out soon, got a place to sleep, a place to stash our weapons, we live near a food place, we're... pretty close-" Kai shot a loving smile toward Neuro. "So there aren't many conflicts. We got pretty lucky."

P smiled. "That's a pretty good setup you have." He handed Kai's bag back to him. "Here, this is your stuff. Don't worry, we didn't take any of it."

"I feel so bad not paying you," Clancee muttered.

Kai opened the bag and dug around, biting his lip, producing an uncut loaf of bread. Though it wasn't, it smelt fresh; Kai could see X and P's eyes widen, even though it was slight, their mouths even watering. "Here, as payment."

"We couldn't - you said that your food may run out soon."

"You need to be paid for your duties. I can't take advantage of you."

P's eyes began to water as X took the bread. Kai then gave them a small block of cheese 'as a tip'.

"Thank you," X said in P's place, who was too choked up to say anything (X ended up taking P into his arms, an arm around his shoulders, P's body nestled against his chest).

Kai smiled to the two. "We'll have to be off - we need to get back before dark." He took his bag and balanced the strap on his shoulder before Neuro took it off him. "Thank you so much for the boot and for your help."

"If you ever need any help, we're always available-" X offered as they began to walk around. "-and so is Toxikita's army." Neuro put an arm around Kai at that point, with a defiant huff.

* * *

"So the letter your sensei sent ya basically says to kill Clancee, who's some snake that tried to reunite his old pirate crew before two of them died?" Cole nodded. "One of our people, the guy who writes the newspapers, Flintlocke, talked about a pirate crew once. Might've been the same thing."

"Going off on a bit of a tangent there, Cam?"

"Only Toxikita and anyone above my rank is allowed to call me Cam." She shook her head. "Anyway, but your sensei says you can't kill anyone. So why is he telling you to kill Clancee?"

"Maybe he means mentally, to break him. Or for you guys to kill him."

"Does he think we're going to kill him for you? Because if he thinks that you're a higher rank because you're an ex-ninja, he's got another thing coming." She went onto a detailed ramble of how his past wouldn't get him in a high rank as a newbie. Cole drowned it out, reading the words of the letter that were most important.

 _Kill Clancee._

 _Kill Clancee._

 _Kill Clancee._

 _Kill Clancee._

 _Kill Cla-_

"Cole?" Camille's voice struck him suddenly.

"Hm? Oh. Can you help me? With... this?" He gently gestured to the letter, hitting it with the back of his hand as he held it up to her.

"Course. I gotta. My job is to babysit the new recruits." She ruffled his hair.

"You don't have to babysit me."

"Kinda do. Tox's orders."

* * *

He stared, shaking, giggling, as his servants attempted to do as He asked, to bring poor, unaware J.D back to life. "Twas in vain. Mm hm, mm hm." He nodded, solemn, before bursting into fits of giggles. "OH WELL! He can be converted into a robot or cyborg or whatnot!" He dismissed J.D with a wave of Hs hand. "That way, he can still serve me! I bet he'd _love_ that!" The servants nervously shuffled, casting glances at each other, at J.D, at their shoes. "Well go _on_ then, we haven't got all day! Go on! Chop, chop, or you'll join him!" They scurried off, pulling the stretcher the corpse was on behind them.

He lay back with a heavy sigh. "Man, it's hard to be me. It was so much easier protecting this city and its little pathetic civilians. Destroying them is so much more fun but so much work. Gotta make robots, running out of metal because they're stealing it, a lot of people are still alive, blah, blah, blah. You know, if I went out and killed everyone, I'd be overwhelmed. Nah, it's easier to make you all do it, kill you off instead."

The guards glanced at each other, but allowed Him to talk and rant. He giggled at their nervousness.

"But I can't go back. Yes, I know what you're thinking - 'but _Master_ if you're not enjoying yourself, you should be doing something you do enjoy'. I appreciate your concern but I do enjoy this! And anyway, I can't go back to the olden days! Kai, the little selfish prick I've been telling you about - you know, the ones in my sick fantasies - ruined it all. Didn't get out the way, forced our leader to jump in front of a fatal hit to save him! He wouldn't let us hold the leader, wouldn't let us see, wouldn't let us mourn!" He giggled, tears running out of his eyes. His chin leant on his hand as he looked at a wall. "He then had the _nerve_ to deny the leader even died! 'Oh, they're just getting dressed! Oh, they're just sleeping! They're okay! It's fine! IT'S FINE! IT'S ALL GOING TO BE PEACHY! NO ONE DIED!' YOU FUCKING LIED, KAI!"

He grabbed his hair, pulling it out, teeth gritted, eyes watering. The guards had stepped back now, wary. He was still giggling, but crying.

"He wouldn't let anyone mourn... He was so confused... God it was _agonising_ to watch, him deny it all. He tried to back up his claims of the leader being alive, but it was hilarious, because they weren't!" His voice was bitter now, loathing. "When the penny dropped... HA! You should have seen the look on his face, the way they said their name, the way they cried! I wish I'd had the sense and the confidence to laugh. God, it was _hilarious_." His giggles changed to half hearted chuckles. "Anyway, so my friends are comforting HIM and telling HIM it'll be okay. Never once do they think that I'm suffering. They think I'm okay. But I don't sleep, cause if I do, I cry myself to sleep and my nightmares are filled with the leader."

The guards began to pity Him, but were too scared too move.

"Anyway, so then, Kai tries to KILL HIMSELF! And they comfort him. I snap. I try to kill him, right there, right then! I fail, duh... But it's HIS FAULT. He cause this. When he dies, I'll think about stopping this all. God, he should have killed himself that night. Should have killed himself. You want to know what I'm going to do, when I get him?"

He awaited a response, bored expression on His face, fingers rapping the chair arm.

"No? Well, I'm going to KILL HIM _AND_ HIS LOVED ONES!" He giggled, but then shook his head. "No! No! No! I'll kill his loved ones and then him! Won't that be fun!" He clapped his hands and stood up, giggling. "Go on! Send out ALL the robots, all the men, everyone able to, with the command to kidnap Kai and anyone near him!"

The guards hurriedly began to leave.

"Oh! Wait!"

They reluctantly turned around.

"I want to be the one to kill Kai and his little chums. So have them lock them all up separately. Don't kill them."

He giggled more, slumping back into his chair.

"Only _I_ get that privilege."

* * *

 **A/N: Did I tell you guys that I love writing the tyrant?**

 **So this is the sixteenth chapter, and I think this will only have twenty chapters. So there's really not a lot left. I have a brief outline of what has to happen next chapter and how my story will end.**

 **I hope you'll enjoy it.**

 **~Soul.**


	17. Death's Enslavement

**A/N: So, I'm going to warn you now. This is where it all goes down. I'm three chapters away from the ending and this is where you'll finally learn what happened, who was who and nearly all the secrets.**

 **I don't mean in just this chapter - over the next few chapters, I mean. You'll even see the end of the apocalypse.**

 **But I won't go into more detail. That'd spoil it all.**

 **I hope you are all ready for revelation.**

* * *

It'd gone on for weeks now, MC always asking the question to him before leaving. Morro never knew how to respond. If Wretch died, it'd be his fault - could he live with that? And then he and everyone else here would be without a home. He'd still be paying his debt to MC as well.

But he'd be free. He wouldn't have to humiliate himself, he wouldn't be under the control of his own mini-tyrant. He wouldn't have to live with the abuse of drunken or angry Wretch.

He would always look at MC blankly when he asked the question, sometimes weakly shrug his shoulders and then watch him roll his eyes before heading out.

The door would always slam behind him.

Now, Morro had made his decision.

It'd been two months, maybe a little more since the first time it'd been asked, and now he'd made a decision. MC wouldn't have his weekly session for two days now.

The last one had been agonising, but MC didn't stop. Maybe it was the bruises and scratches and cuts Wretch had inflicted upon him the hour before. Morro had even cried, but MC just looked pleased with himself. He'd asked the question, but Morro couldn't answer.

He'd just shrunk under the covers of his bed to cry. MC muttered something and slammed the door. Morro decided that MC would no longer have to wait for an answer, that he'd tell him his answer.

He'd been so good recently, maybe if he promised to please him, maybe if he begged, maybe if he let Wretch do what he wanted, maybe Wretch would let him do this today.

"I want to go to the roof." He was going to send a message to MC, and the roof was the only, and the best, place to do just that. "I know it's a weird request, but I haven't seen the outside for so long and I was thinking..."

Wretch considered it. "You have been quite obedient these past few days, and you've received no complaints so far." He flicked through papers with a finger, wet with his saliva. "However, does it mean I should reward you with going to the roof without supervision?"

"Please, I'll do whatever you want afterwards - I just want to see the outside. I'll only be up there for a while."

"Ugh. Fine." Wretch waved a hand. "Ten minutes. You do anything, I'll kill you." He pointed a warning finger at Morro, jabbing his cheek. "Remember, ten minutes. No more."

Morro nodded. "And if I do what I want to do within ten minutes?"

"Stay up there. You earned it." With a final jab, this time delivered to his chest. "And I want you out of my sight. If I have to go up and get you, you'll wish you'd jumped off."

Morro nervously grinned and nodded, then rushed off, too eager to get away.

"Remember, your next session with your friend is in two hours!"

Morro jogged to the stairs and couldn't help but smile and laugh and grin - finally, he'd be out! His message to MC would get him out of here, and he'd be free!

Everything was going to be fine.

The roof was beautiful, more so than last time he was allowed to come up. The vines and roses stood against the wire fence, looping in and out. Plants, some grown, some weeds, were scattered across the borders and in between the cracks of the bricks. He was careful to not tread on them - even if Wretch had so much as abandoned this place, the other workers in this hellhole were passionate about it, trying to get up here whenever they could.

Wretch probably thought he was tending to the flowers, though the ex-ghost had never been one for gardening.

He looked at his note, his little message for MC, checking over it to make sure he was happy, before folding it again. Of course, he had to climb the fence to make sure it got out there, to make sure MC got, and that'd take a while. Hopefully ten minutes was quick enough.

The holes were big enough for him to put his feet in, so it wasn't as if he'd struggle with doing that - it was just so high. Luckily, all his ninja training back in the days he'd lived had paid off.

It took longer than he expected, climbing back up and then back down. What he was standing on was very narrow, his toes dangling in the air. A hand holding the fence tightly, he looked over the city.

Robots were beginning to walk around and His men were roaming with them, the streets otherwise deserted. Morro gulped.

Soon, soon he'd be free. Soon, MC would have his little message.

"You've been up here for more than ten mi-" Wretch froze when he saw Morro on the other side of the fence, leaning over the edge, barely holding on. "Get. Back. Here. _Now_." His voice chilled, sending a shiver through Morro's spine.

Morro looked back, first at Wretch, then at his fingers.

"Get. Back. Here. _NOW_."

Morro hung his head. "Tell him that our session is cancelled."

He let go.

* * *

They went on foot - they were just scouting the city, they didn't need to drive around. Robots, after so long of being idle and off the streets, had returned, and they were even more dangerous than before. They even had men - human people - with them. The tyrant's guards and servants, of course.

Most of them were dead when Camille finished with them, but Cole left some paralysed on the street, some unconscious and some delusional with amnesia. They trudged through all of them, wielding guns and weapons, circling the area.

"Shit, I ran outta bullets," Camille muttered to herself, patting her uniform for extra ammo. "Shit, I don't have any ammo. You have any?"

"I don't usually use guns, so I didn't bring any. You could always use mi-"

"No, I'll manage. And you need a gun for long distance enemies. I'll manage with my sword and such. I'm better close up, really." She smirked and chuckled. "Okay, so what are you going to do when you find Clancee?"

"I'll throttle him and either you use my gun to shoot him in the head, or I'll knock him out and drag him back to the base and interrogate him or torture him or something."

"Sounds fine to me." Camille smiled. "What if you accidentally kill him?"

"Oh, I won't. I'm an expert in not killing people." Cole stretched his arms and grinned. His shirt rode up, showing off his midriff, but he didn't fix it when it still rode up after he put his arms down. "So anyway, how'd you get into the army?"

She paused, shifting from one foot to another. "It's a long story, maybe I'll tell you another day. But we're on a mission. We can't get distracted now, Cole."

"All right."

An hour passed, and they sat down to have a quick sandwich - they'd taken food, because who knew where Clancee was and so it could take them hours, days. This repeated on for most of the day. "Jesus, this is boring. And you do this nearly every day?"

"I don't go on all the missions, you know. I do this every month, really. I usually help organise the building, get slackers working, execute the prisoners, help with paperwork, babysit the new recruits. I'm like Toxikita's secretary, doing all the stuff she can't. We both choose whether a certain medicine will be used, and whether we send it to the infirmary." She finished her sandwich. "We're making a medicine that'll sedate a patient, but we don't know if it works properly. All the animals we've used it on have appeared to had delusions or gone crazy, like on a sugar high. We don't know if it'll affect the patients the same way, but we're working on it."

"Am I meant to know that?"

"No, not really, Don't tell anyone, or I'll have your head." She winked before heaving herself to her feet with a grunt. "C'mon, we need to get going. If it gets too dark, we'll have to camp out."

"What, with all these robots lurking?!"

Camille opened her mouth to retort but she heard a distant conversation; she gestured for Cole to duck down before doing the same thing, reaching for a knife.

"How's the foot?"

"Neuro, you don't have to ask every five minutes. I'm still adjusting to it."

"Do you know who cut off your foot?" _Clancee._ Camille mouthed his name to Cole, who rolled his eyes and nodded. Still crouching, they began to make their way to the voices in silence. The conversation continued, an endless bicker about feet and prosthetics and worry, and got louder as they moved toward their prey.

 _Kill Clancee._

He was barely a metre away, unaware of the predators lurking in the shadows - shadows had always been a good cover for Cole.

"Right, we're nearly there - when we get back, we need to discuss mov-" And then they struck.

Cole jumped out, gripping the snake's neck and dragging him back into the shadows to weaken him. To stall for time as Camille fought off Kai and Neuro, he pinned the pirate to the nearest wall and beat him up, stabbing weapons into areas where it wouldn't be lethal. "Camille, hurry! You need to kill him!"

"I'm kind of fighting two guys at once, Cole! I think you might have to do it!"

"But I can't kill! You know I can't kill!" Clancee's pleads weakened as Cole continued to drive his knife into him, waiting for Camille to finish. "You don't need to kill them!"

"Oh shut up!"

Clancee was silent. Not even a quiet plea. Not a peep. Cole finally looked back at his prey, checked for life.

"There... there's nothing..." Cole, shaking, backed up; Clancee's lifeless body fell to the floor with a bloody thud. "No..." His hands were coated in blood. His breaths were heavy. "Camille... Camille, I killed him..."

His back hit the opposite wall.

"I killed him."

* * *

Using Cole's declaration of Clancee's demise as a distraction, Kai grabbed Neuro's hand and ran, blind by the darkness. His running was clumsy and he nearly tripped over bumps and cracks in their path, barely staying upright. "We have to find a place to hide and then wait until it's day. Then we can make our way back home."

"But! But Clancee!"

"Clancee's dead, Neuro! Cole killed him, the bastard even boasted about it. It's not safe there - they might want us dead too." Once he found an alleyway, he pushed Neuro into the alleyway against the wall and then joined him. There was a small ditch behind the dumpster, which they climbed into - for extra safety, and cover from anyone chasing them. "We'll stay here for the night and then we can return to our house when it's day." Kai dug around in the bag. "Candles... and matches... Perfect." He smiled, lighting the candle. "Neuro, sweetheart, your face."

The mind reader's face was bloody and bruised, with a black eye, and his lips and nose were bleeding. His face was littered with scratches and cuts and minor injuries. It could be healed easily, probably nothing major - but, as Kai wasn't exactly a doctor, there was no way to be sure.

Neuro merely laughed, wincing as it hurt his face. "You're just as bad." Kai's lower part of his face was smothered with blood, bruises on his face. A cut caused his lip to bleed, and in seconds he was spluttering and choking. "Here, there must be something in here to help stop the bleeding." He looked through the bag, frowning. "All I got is a packet of tissues."

"That'll do, come here." Kai snatched the tissues out of Neuro's hands, pulling one out and pressing it against the telepath's lips, dabbing at the blood. "Jesus, we got a right beating," he said with a chuckle. "Wonder why she didn't find it necessary to use weapons? I mean, I'm glad she didn't, because then we'd be in deep shit." He coughed and then wiped his mouth on his arm, without a sleeve (it'd been ripped off in the fight, the fabric not tailored to withhold tussles like that) and frowned when he saw blood on his arm.

"Maybe she didn't want to kill us?" Neuro suggested, frowning too at the blood on Kai's arm, grabbling for the packet of tissues to wipe it off.

"Perhaps. Maybe it was to stall for time." Kai continued to clean Neuro's face. "It might have been to cause us more pain and to kill us more slowly, but that's very unlikely."

"And maybe they didn't mean to k-"

"It'd be naïve to believe that they accidentally killed Clancee." Kai looked down at the ground. "They hunted us down, dragged him into the shadows and one of them beat us up to stall for time as the other killed him." He shook his head. "No, they meant to kill Clancee. We were just a happy bonus." He looked back up, a small smile on his face. "Bless you, Neuro. You're still hopeful, still able to be hopeful and to truly trust people." He carded the telepath's hair, head tilted with adoration. "I lost the ability ages ago." He kissed Neuro's bloody forehead, pulling the other into his face by a hand at the back of his head. "Well, until you came along."

Neuro grimaced. "Your lips are bloody, Kai!" He took out another tissue to wipe Kai's face. There was little resistance, Kai only whine-grunting to fight back, but Neuro continued to wipe his face. "Save all that cheesy stuff for when we're at home, okay?" He grinned, giving Kai's, now bloodless forehead a quick kiss.

The candle lit their temporary home, the ditch, though the light was dim and short lived; Kai had to use multiple matches.

"Why don't you just use your fire?"

"The flame's too big, might end up melting the wax and maybe burn you."

Kai was thankful for the dumpster, it hid the ditch and, if careful, could be rolled over it without risk of crushing anyone inside. Sure, the smell might have been bad, but it was better than the smell of roasted flesh that the cyborgs emitted (hell, that could be a weapon, to suffocate enemies). A luxury, even. Maybe the food in there was still edible, or had attracted rats - were rats edible?

Soon, the night became too dark and the candle too dim, so, even with the candle, neither of them could see each other. "We should get to sleep. Here, help me roll this over, Neuro." When they got the dumpster over the ditch, Neuro curled up against Kai. "I'm going to make sure you outlive me, you know that? I don't think anything will kill me more than losing you." Kai pulled the telepath close, burying his face in his hair. "Heh. You still smell of coconut."

"Kai, this is cheesy, and I'm trying to sleep." He looked up at Kai, smirking. "Kind of hard when you're talking about death."

"Sorry, Neuro. But I'm serious. If one of us has to die, I'll make sure it's me. I want you to be able to live a long time and even see the end of this." _Maybe my death would end the apocalypse,_ Kai thought, bowing his head. "You deserve that. You deserve more than this."

"And now you're going to say I deserve more than you."

"Heh. I forget you can read minds."

"I don't need to."

Kai, silent, shrunk down. "We should try to sleep."

"No, Kai, I love you. I love you because you are the best for me. Maybe you won't be later, maybe you once weren't. But the reason I have you now is because I love you now. I don't deserve more than you because I don't want more than you, and I don't need more than you. You know what I need? You _alive_. I don't care if this tyrant's reign never ends, as long as I'm with you, I'll survive."

"..." The Fire Master bit his lip. "Who's the cheesy one now?"

"Oh hush you."

"Really, we should get to sleep now." Kai kissed Neuro's head one more time before finally settling down, ready for sleep.

The night passed peacefully, their slumbers dreamless, and soon it was day. Kai was the first one awake, but Neuro, after a little shake, was up soon later. They rolled the dumpster back onto the solid ground - thankful that it didn't cave in during their sleep - and climbed out, grabbing the bag and stuffing everything they'd taken out back in. "Right, we need to get back to our home now. Keep a good hold of your weapons, I'll carry the bags."

Kai peered round the corner, squinting to look for enemies, then quickly darting back to the safety of the wall as he saw a horde of robots, heading their way, too close for his liking. "Neuro, check the other side for robots."

"There's robots on the other side - a huge horde, and they're really close."

"Shit. Neuro, climb on my back, we'll have to run across the roofs." Too late - the robots noticed them. "Neuro! On my back!" Trying to dodge the shooting, Kai climbed up the wall as Neuro tried to fight them off on his back (how neither of them got hurt was a wonder, one the two were thankful for). Once on the roof, Neuro slipped off his back they began to run, Neuro casting a glance behind them. The robots were following them. "More of them?! I thought they were made out of dead people! Surely there can't be that many dead people!"

"Those are the cyborgs or zomborgs or whatever you want to call them! These are fully robots! He's got a load of them, you know! And even if they were cyborgs... Neuro, a lot of people died." He stopped running to look back at Neuro. "Do you want to run on ahead?" Kai slowed to allow Neuro past. I'll look from behind, you can attack any of them if they get onto the roof."

"Got it!" Neuro took out his trench knives as he ran, a metre or two in front of Kai. The robots, though walking, were quick enough to catch up to Kai and were shooting at the pair of them.

It was horrible.

They hit his foot.

He slipped, a misplaced judgement.

He fell, into the waiting hands of the robots.

He was barely alive, but unconscious.

They got him.

"NEURO!" Kai yelled, immediately stopping as he fell, fear in his eyes.

God, he was going to lose him, wasn't he? "Please don't let me lose him..." He fished out a sword from the bag, ducking and trying to hold back tears. Once he had the sword, he closed the bag and rested it on his shoulder.

He didn't continue running. Kai was sick of running.

Kai jumped down.

* * *

MC got the message. Morro's body was still there, two hours later, because Wretch couldn't be bothered to get rid of it, not yet.

Also, the little note Morro had, technically his last words.

"Yes," the note read.

Yes to free him. Yes to pay the debt. Yes to kill Wretch.

He returned to the building, a gun hidden in his trenchcoat. Wretch sat at his desk. "You know, I would have thought Morro's body was a clear sign that told you your session with him is cancelled. Buuuut I can always set you up with someone else, if you're really desperate for a bit of action." He chuckled, husky and mocking. The stench of alcohol polluted the air and his breath.

"No, thank you though. I'd rather talk to you. Alone."

"Ooh, I dunno. You see, I have to make sure none of my employees escape and I don't want to lose customers. And anyway, my employees are barely able to look after themselves, you know?"

"They're not children, Wretch."

"Some of them are."

"You make me sick."

"You and many people."

MC sighed. "I want a conversation with you - it won't take very long, I can promise you that." No he couldn't.

"Fine. We can go to the roof, where your little friend threw himself off." He chuckled at MC's face. "Or we could... not have a conversation."

"No, no, the roof will do."

The garden was beautiful, roses, vines, poppies, all sorts. "Who tends to the garden? It's beautiful."

"My employees. It's their little place of beauty, the garden. You could even say it's the place of their sanity."

"Their slice of Heaven in Hell." MC shut the door with a sigh. "Now, our conversation." Swiftly, he took the gun out of his pocket and aimed it at Wretch.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Calm down buddy! Is this because of Morro? I didn't kill him - he killed himself!"

"I know. But it's because of you he died. You pushed him to the edge. You hurt him, you bullied him, you starved him. You abused him, and he couldn't escape. This... this was his escape." MC advanced, gun still aimed at Wretch. "Jump out of the building to escape the fire, you know?"

"So you're going to kill the cause, huh? Why? My employees will be without a job, without a home."

MC shrugged. "Not my problem. Knowing you, you probably took them away from their lives."

"You didn't answer my question. Why?"

"I suppose it's time for the truth."

"The truth, huh?" Wretch was chuckling, eyeing the gun.

"The truth. Every week, I would have a session with Morro. At the end of every session, I would ask him a question, whether he wanted you dead. You see, I had him debt, and he wanted to be free of the debt. He also wanted out of here. I gave him a choice - stop paying the debt and stay here and be unable to escape, or to continue paying the debt and get busted out of here and to have you killed. If he hadn't shrugged his shoulders every time, you'd be dead. Despite everything, he wanted you alive, and you repaid him in abuse and, eventually, driving him to suicide."

Wretch hit the back of the fence.

"Now, I'm going to ask _you_ a question. Do you want to die...?" MC lowered the gun. "Or do you want to pay off Morro's debt?"

* * *

Camille had to carry him back. He'd fainted. The smell of musty blood on his hands, the corpse lying before him, the reality setting in ( _he killed Clancee_ ) had had him faint. He was heavy (but what would you expect with someone so muscular and big boned?) and Camille was sweating and panting and heaving by the time she got back to the base.

"What the hell happened?!" Someone (she didn't care enough to check) said, rushing over. There was a small crowd, but Tox wasn't present.

"He needs to put in the infirmary - I don't know if he's injured so we can't be sure if it's okay for him to be walking around."

"I'll do that, Camille. You! Get a stretcher! We got a patient! Fainted!"

In mere minutes, Cole had been whisked away to the infirmary and the doubting Toxikita was at Camille's side, eyebrow typically raised. "There's probably nothing wrong with him. You're making a show and dance about nothing."

"He _killed_ someone, Tox."

"We've all killed someone, he's just late at doing it."

"He's not allowed to though, his sensei told him not to."

"You have to break a few rules sometimes."

"But what if he can't do that? What if it upsets him? You didn't see him there, he was panicking a lot and he couldn't handle it. He fucking fainted, Tox!"

"What's your point?" Toxikita crossed her arms and further raised her eyebrow as she looked down at Camille.

"If he's not okay, I think we should use the me-"

"No."

"But Tox, he'll probably need sedating!"

"We have another medicine for sedation and a method for sedation. We haven't even tested it out yet, Cam, so we don't even know if it's safe for use."

"That medicine is running out, and the method uses other medicines and is sometimes lethal, more so than this untested medicine, probably!"

"Probably! That's the point, Cam, _probably_. Even if he needs sedating, I'm not risking his life by using an untested medicine on him!"

"The method is just as, maybe even more, lethal, and the other medicine is running out and there's not enough for a proper dosage! And the only way to administer that medicine and method is to inject it, and he might not like having needles in him, whereas this one can be given in many ways. This is our only hope."

"Why do you even want him to live, Cam? Many people have come back worse off and you didn't beg me to use a dangerous medicine on them. Why do you want him to be sedated? There might be nothing wrong with hi-"

"Because it's my job to keep him alive!" Camille glowered at Tox. "It's my duty that he, as a new recruit, lives. It's the first time a new recruit has gone on such an important message - to kill a person, or snake, who wants to unite a band of pirates to probably start terrorising our city as well as the Tyrant. If he isn't okay, i-if he dies, I'll have failed my job! Until it's not my job to look after him, I'm keeping him alive."

Toxikita was silent before chuckling. "I did make you certified babysitter, didn't I?" She sighed. "Fine. Cole can be our guinea pig _if_ it turns out he's not coping well with killing someone directly. If it doesn't work well but he remains alive, we can get our people to make some more of the tested sedating medicine, or get some from the infirmary." It'd be taking some of their own creation back, so not stealing technically. "You'll be in charge of administering the drug, since it's your duty to look after him, and you'll be taking care of him if the medicine works but has any side effects, and you'll have minimal support."

"I understand, Tox."

He was not coping well. He was thrashing, someone reported he'd given himself injuries and even tried to bash his head against the wall until he died. Camille held the syringe containing the untested sedation medicine. For now, she'd inject it in him, because it'd be too dangerous any other way at the moment. "Hold his neck so I can inject this medicine into him," she said to one of the people holding him down. "Hey, Cole. It's me. Keep calm, I'm going to make it better." He went still, eyes wild and wide, body only twitching. She pressed the needle into his neck, watching him settle down and eventually stop moving.

"He's alive, Camille."

"Thank you, Edna. Ed, can you please move the patient to another bed nearer his dorm between close to mine?" She thanked him as he did so, her eyes on the syringe. "I'm not letting Cole die too."

* * *

Kai hadn't lasted five minutes, really. He'd fought them for a long time, trying to rescue Neuro, but ended up too sore and battered to fight. Putting his sword aside (on his back), he ran again, hoping too lose them in a crowd.

It wasn't a crowd, per se, it was a several of people being out for whatever reason. Maybe food, maybe supplies, maybe looking for a fight. Zane and Shadow were in the crowd, but they didn't see him, thank God they didn't see him (they might reveal his location to the chasing robots). Kai hoped that maybe he'd be lost in the crowd and they'd give up. Maybe he could ambush them when he was better and then save Neuro.

Freeing Neuro was a priority, but staying free was the only way he could do that. He had to get away to stay free and then he could save his boyfriend.

But they didn't give up; they began capturing the people in the crowd (Zane... Shadow...), killing some who resisted and knocking out their prisoners. Kai had nowhere to run, staring in fear as they got close, so close, too close...

He struggled as the robots grabbed him but stopped to scream when they began to stretch out his arms and legs and pinned him down, his back aching due to the impact of being punched down to the ground. They put a cloth over his mouth. Were they trying to suffocate him?

He felt his consciousness slipping away before delving into a world of black.

When Kai finally came to, he was in a hall, chained up at the neck, his hands and feet tied together. There were link-chains on either side of his neck's chain and on the front of it too. The link-chains were connected to other people, but the one at the front led to the middle of the circle they were all forming, which was darkened so they couldn't see.

Kai looked to see who was either side of him. Zane was on his right, and on his left was...

"Neuro!"

"Oh look!" A chilling voice echoed in the room, alerting all the prisoners to it. "A lovers reunion! Aw, how cute!" The middle of the circle lit up, revealing a young man, probably a bit older than Kai. His hair was shaggy and unkempt, just past his shoulders, his eyes were wild and wide, here was a gun in a pouch on his belt and he had his hands clasped together and against his face in mock adoration. "Isn't that just _sweet_?!"

"Kai, who is that?" Neuro whispered, eyes darting from his boyfriend to the stranger, frowning as he saw the fear in Kai's eyes.

Kai's jaw dropped, and he shut his eyes in disbelief. "No..."

"Welcome to my gameshow, Doomsday, and thank you all for playing!" He threw his arms up into the air, laughing. "I am your host, the Tyrant!"

He lowered his hands and turned to Kai, a cruel glint in his eyes.

"But you can call me _Jay_."

* * *

 **A/N: Yep - the Tyrant is Jay.**

 **Things may start to click and make sense after this. I'm sure you can guess who MC and his female companion are now, why they were keeping Morro in debt and such.**

 **Only three more chapters to write, and this adventure will be over.**


	18. Curtain's Call

_"Kai, stop being so reckless!" The leader yelled to him as he barely dodged the attacks of their foes, glowering at him. "You're going to get killed!"_

 _"Relax, it'll be fine! I'm too good to be hit!"_

 _Jay stuck close to the leader, grinning with every groan as he made his puns. He loved being a Ninja. He loved fighting the bad guys. He loved his honorary brothers, more than anything in the world._

 _A minion tried to hit Jay, but the leader defended him, took the hit. The cut across his stomach was, while not gaping, bleeding profusely. He staggered back, groaning in pain before falling onto his back. Jay had to pull him to safety, into the hut that they rendered safe, and treated and dressed his wound before returning, bloody hands._

 _"We'll drive him from the bottom of the tower," Zane cut in, referring to himself and Cole. "Kai, Nya, Jay, Lloyd! You stay down here, and be ready for him!"_

 _"Why are you only taking two?! Why not three of us?!" Kai raised an eyebrow at the Nindroid, frowning. "Look, take me with yo-"_

 _"Lloyd's already injured, and there are more of his minions. He can only do so much, but you'll need four of you while Sensei tries to rescue his prisoners! When he comes back, you can send Kai to help us, but I doubt we'll need it. And anyway, we've established that his weakness is ice, earth and energy!"_

 _"Ugh, fine!"_

 _"Come, Kai, it'll be fun to shock our enemies together!"_

 _"I hate yo-" Kai was suddenly struck back by one of their enemy's minions, which cut his stomach and threw him back into a wall. He cried out in pain, falling to the floor, unable to move for a few seconds, only able to hear his blood bubbling and oozing and a persistent ringing._

 _His sister ran over, perhaps yelled his name, and held his upper body up. The ringing dimmed down slowly, but he couldn't hear her for a while._

 _"Kai," was the first thing she heard. "It's going to be okay."_

 _"Make that two injured people! When Sensei gets there, send Jay up!"_

 _"I can still fight..." Kai groaned, forcing himself up. His vision betrayed him, fuzzy and blurry. His blood had soaked his (luckily red) gi already but, due to it clotting, he was no longer bleeding._

 _"No you can't Kai!" Nya insisted, trying to sit him down._

 _"It'll be fine." He pushed past her with pained grunts. "Just wrap a bandage around it and I'll be good to go." He smiled._

 _"Ugh, this is why I should be the big sister." Nya wrapped her arm underneath his armpits for support as he limped to the safe hut. "Lloyd, help him get wrapped up. I'll take over leading for now until you're both able to come back and fight, okay?" He nodded, already undressing Kai and treating the wound._

 _Kai watched her go, smiling through the pain. His little sister was all grown up (he'd had this thought so many times, and was never able to get over it). He was terribly proud._

 _She was going to be something big when she got older. They all were._

 _"And ther- Kai!" As soon as Lloyd said that the wound was dressed, he stood up and ran to where his weapon was. Lloyd ran out after, trying to stop him. "Kai! Kai, you're still hurt!"_

 _Kai grabbed his weapons. "Lloyd! Get your weapon! We need to help them - Jay and Nya can only last so long without help!" And he ran toward the two, sword wielded._

 _"Kai! Get back, you're meant to be healing!" Jay yelled, fending off a minion. "Where's Lloyd?!"_

 _"I'm right here!"_

 _The minion attacking Jay saw an opportunity and kicked him back. Nya ran over to check he was okay, yelling his name. The minion side-kicked Kai onto the floor and then made chase as Kai tried to back away. His wound... God it hurt..._

 _"Kai!" Lloyd yelled, running to the minion._

 _The minion raised his knife eagerly, a wild look in his eyes - he was going to kill a ninja!_

 _He stabbed forward, and Kai readied himself for death._

 _The stab never came. Death never came._

 _When he opened his eyes and saw who took the fatal blow for him, he wished that Death had came._

 _"No..."_

 _The leader._

 _"Nya..."_

* * *

"It looks like we have a few familiar faces here, playing my game! Kai, the Fire Ninja! Zane, the Ice Ninja! Shadow, the Master of Shadow! Neuro, the Master of the Mind! Dareth, the Brown Ninja!" Jay went on to list a few more people, Gravis, Bolobo, Jacob, Clouse... They were all in the crowd, and they were all going to die.

"Now, you see, Domesday is my little gameshow. There are... forty of you, yes? Well, I've given you all a number, it's on your back. I don't know the numbers, all except one, so I'm going to choose one at random. Like... twenty seven!"

One of the guards pulled a prisoner, a stranger to Kai, to her feet. She had honey blonde hair in a plait, fair skin and seemed to be wearing a somewhat torn dress, or maybe it was a shirt and skirt. She was only thirteen, really.

"What's your name, darling?"

She didn't reply.

"I'm going to call you Honey. I _love_ your hair! Now, since I chose your number-" He took out his gun and shot her in the head, not even finishing his sentence. Her body crumpled to the floor, she didn't have time to do anything. "BAM! Dead!"

The people next to 'Honey' edged away from the body but went still and silent as Jay took out his gun and aimed it at their heads.

"Don't worry. If you're lucky, you won't have to put up with the smell for a while." He chose a few numbers - thirteen, forty, thirty two, three. "All right, all right! That's today's round done! You guys have moved to the next round!" He clapped his hands together, his applause mocking. "You'll be escorted to your dorms where you'll be staying until the game is done and there's a winner!" Jay bowed to them. "Guards, take them away!"

The chains connecting them to one another were unlocked and they were all pulled in different directions, the corpses laying on the ground, until Jay dragged them away.

Kai had tried to struggle to get to Neuro, but the guards were stronger than their battered states.

The dorms were dungeons.

"It looks like you, Kai, got the five star dorm!" Jay's voice came from nowhere, startling the ex-Ninja. "You're free to wander around your room without chains and you even have a light! And a window!" He shoved Kai inside, locked the door and then peered through the window. "I know your number. Don't worry, Kai, I'll be saving you for later. Well! Get comfy, Kai!" He winked, and with that, he left.

"JAY! TAKE ME TO NEURO!" Kai began to hit the windows, trying to smash them. "JAY!"

There was no verbal response, but Jay turned around to smirk at Kai's desperation. He clasped his hands together and put them again to his cheek in mock adoration, walking backwards. In his eyes was a cruel look of dominance and advantage.

He had him. Finally.

It was then Kai knew he wasn't leaving this place alive.

* * *

Lloyd stared up at the burning building, Misako standing behind him, rubbing his back. He heard the screams of everyone inside and heard Wretch cursing him.

"Goodbye Morro," he said, apathetic.

Misako and he gazed up at the flames.

"Goodbye Eliza."

* * *

Neuro struggled against his chains. He'd been shoved into the room hard enough to send him toppling to the floor; it'd taken him a while to get up (bound ankles and wrists would do that to you) and he'd been all around the room trying to loosen them, bent over. "Stupid chains!" He slumped against the wall in defeat, biting back stressed tears. "Stupid Tyrant... Stupid Jay..." He couldn't even rub his eyes, his ankles and wrists bound together by chains. "Stupid K- me..."

He wouldn't blame Kai.

When Neuro opened his eyes (had he fallen asleep...?), a guard was unlocking the chains connecting his ankles and wrists. Though his wrists were still chained together (and the same for his ankles), he didn't have to be leant over to walk all the time. Neuro struggled and tried to attack the guard, but his attacks were useless.

"Don't even try, kid. Jay puts us through much worse shit, your hits are nothing." He grabbed Neuro's face, nails digging into his cheeks. "You got that, bucko?" The guard chuckled. "You may have been something out there, but here, you're nothing." He suddenly thrust his hand forward, pushing Neuro's head into the wall with a bloodcurdling thud, and then threw him aside, the telepath's head falling onto the floor.

Neuro lay there, holding back tears. The guard watched him, prodded with a foot and then left, slamming and locking the door behind him. The telepath lay there for longer, thinking about the people killed, right in front of them. One of them had been right beside him. He choked back tears, curling up.

Kai would get them out of here, right? Kai would defeat the Tyrant and they'd escape and everything would go back to normal and it'll be okay. Neuro could retain his memories and get to live a normal life.

"People are dead..." He mumbled to himself. No, the world would never go back to normal. "Griffin..." What was his dead brother like? No one had ever told him. Karloff never indulged him in the memories, and the only times he saw Shadow were when he was in the hospital, when he was off to save Zane and now. He never had the time to ask what Griffin was like.

He'd want to restore his memories, but had failed to do so. He'd only made new ones, they were his memories now.

Nothing could ever be the same again.

But maybe the world could be restored to a similar glory.

He was going to leave this building alive.

* * *

Camille sat by Cole's bed, watching him, waiting for his eyes to flicker open. She carded his hair for a second before pulling her hand back with a sigh.

"He might not even wake up," Tox said from where she was standing, at the door of the infirmary. "Of course, I hope not, but there's always a chance of him not surviving."

"He already survived me giving him the dosage. He'll survive now."

"It might have a delayed react-"

"He's going to live, Tox. He won't die on my watch." Her voice was bitter and sharp and she didn't make eye contact. Her eyes were fully focused on Cole, a hand absentmindedly fiddling with a lock of his wavy black hair; his hair was soft and clearly well tended to. "Who has that much time?" She joked, chuckling to herself.

Toxikita shook her head and shrugged, sitting on the empty bed next to Cole's. "I don't see why you're so obsessed with keeping him alive. Sure, it's your job, but he's done pretty terrible things."

"We all have."

"None of us have tortured people for information, Cam. None of us have ever burnt down buildings. We've only killed..."

"... And he's done everything else." Camille continued to stroke Cole's hair. "If you don't approve of his methods, why hire him?"

"I hire everyone. Everyone who is alive has a purpose to be alive. The Tyrant's purpose was to protect the land and now it is his purpose to destroy it, and us in the process. My purpose was to save the land, and it still is." She crossed her arms and looked away. "I believe that, when someone dies, it is because they no longer are needed. Wanted, yes, but not needed. Or perhaps their demise will start something, perhaps good, perhaps bad, that needs to happen for people's purposes. If Cole is still alive, he has a purpose. If Cole was sent here, it was for a reason." Toxikita finally looked back at Camille. "If I was to turn someone away, I could be denying them their purpose. I have done that once and later, they were killed. Maybe it was coincidence, but if I had granted them a place in my army, they would be allowed. So perhaps their purpose lay in my army, and since they could not achieve that purpose, they were fated to die."

"So you give anyone who asks entrance to the army because it might be a part of their purpose?"

"Yes."

"What happens if they're a spy?"

"Again, it is their purpose. And why would the Tyrant bother to send his men here? He knows what we're doing and has yet to stop us."

"Perhaps he's trying to lead us into a false sense of security."

"Impossible. He doesn't have the brains for it and he has no need for it. He has the upper hand at all times - the robots, the cyborgs, the men. We only have a handful of what he has, though I hate to admit it." Toxikita rubbed her face. "Anyway, that's why I let Cole join us. His methods may be cruel and inhumane, but he is alive for a reason. And maybe that reason lies inside here."

"So... if he has a purpose still, he shouldn't die?"

"Or it will start something, good or bad. And maybe his purpose was to kill Clancee, and now that he's done that..." Toxikita stretched her arms, yawning. "Right, I've been doing paperwork all night. I'm going to bed."

"Can't you stay? You can sleep in the bed?" Camille looked hopeful, hand still buried in Cole's mess of hair.

"... I suppose I could, for you." She nestled herself in the bed, under the covers. "If he wakes up or dies, tell me when I wake up. Also, you're in charge, second in command."

Camille beamed. "I thought that Skales was second in command."

"I'm the leader of this army, I can do what I want. You're in charge." And with that, Toxikita closed her eyes to sleep. "Don't talk to me," she mumbled, her last words before settling off to sleep.

Camille grinned one more time at her leader before looking back at Cole.

"It's all going to be okay."

* * *

Kai didn't fight the guards as they pulled him out of his prison - from the looks of it, no one else was either. They were all dragged to the hall, the Tyrant's Killing Hall, where the bodies of yesterday no longer lay. They were all chained up together again, in the same order.

"You're getting us out of here, aren't you?" Neuro's small voice asked from beside him, prompting the Fire Master to finally look at him. There were small cuts in his face, as if someone had dug their nails into him. "We're going to live, right?"

Kai didn't respond. He couldn't lie to Neuro.

"Kai?"

Jay walked into the room, flourishing his gun again. He stepped into the centre of the circle made by the prisoners and bowed. He repeated his introduction from the previous day yet again. "I think our players have forgotten how our game works! So - thirty three!" A guard pulled up an old man who was barely able to stand. His hair, what little was left, was in wiry strands, his skin a dark tan. Jay didn't even ask for his name. With only a single bullet to the head, he crumpled to the floor, just like 'Honey' had yesterday.

Kai heard Neuro's whimper as the gunshot echoed throughout the Killing Hall and tried to move his hand to comfort him without it being noticeable, but was interrupted by Jay's yell of, "TWENTY NINE!" Another gunshot ran through the room.

Neuro was shaking, he could feel it through the chains. "Hey, sweeti-"

"EIGHTEEN!" The person next to Shadow was stood up. Bang.

"It's going to be okay. We're going to be okay. You're righ-"

"THREE!" Bang. ... Bang.

"You're right. When Jay kills the last person, I'm going to get out of my place, steal the keys off the guard and get everyone alive out of here. Okay, Neuro? We're going to li-"

"FOURTEEN!"

Kai froze. Fourteen.

"Yes, Kai, Nya was that age when she died, wasn't she? That was the age our leader was when YOU LET HER DIE! And now..." Jay chuckled, leaning right into Kai's face.

The guard pulled Neuro up.

* * *

 _Words couldn't describe how proud of Nya Kai was. She had to step in as the older sister for most of her life. She was so mature. She handled their father's death so well. She fell in love. She fell out of love._

 _She was the best little sister a guy could ask for._

 _And now, in front of him, she lay. Bleeding. Dying. She smiled a little, though, up at Kai. "I'm proud of you, you know," she whispered. He tried to swallow down a forming lump in his throat and tried to not cry, sniffling. "Yeah. I'm proud of you."_

 _"No, silly," he said, shaking his head. Ignoring the agony blazing through him from his injury, he knelt down over her. The tears got harder to contain. His baby sister... dying... "I'm meant to be proud of_ you _. I'm the older brother."_

 _Nya laughed. "You could never be proud of anyone but yourself, Kai." The other Ninja were fending of the minions, trying to buy them time. Sensei had returned only minutes before. Zane and Cole had been fetched._

 _Jay stood, idle. That was his girl. She defended Kai. She was going to die instead of him._

 _Something inside him_ snapped _._

 _"Kai. You need to get out of here. I don't want you dying too." She reached up to him. "Kai. Carry me."_

 _"What...?"_

 _"Carry me to the memorial. Please." Her last wish._

 _"But... what if you die befor-"_

 _"Kaiiiiiii..."_

 _"... Fine..." He lifted her into his arms, bridal style, and ran off toward the park, to where she wanted to be. "Nya, please don't die now."_

 _"I'm dying Kai. But I'll hold on."_

 _Her blood stained his gi and his sleeves and dripped onto his boots, but Kai either ignored it or didn't care. He just kept begging her to stay alive a little longer. He had to fulfil her last wish._

 _The grass was crispy under his feet, he noted, as he slowed to a halt. Nya looked up at the memorial, smiling. "Heh..." Her face fell into a frown. "I'm going to die, Kai."_

 _"I know."_

 _"I'm only fourteen."_

 _"I know."_

 _"I'm in so much pain."_

 _"I know."_

 _"I'm scared, Kai."_

 _"..."_

 _"... But I think that's a good thing." She smiled. "Put me down Kai."_

 _He settled her down, kneeling again. She kissed his forehead, pushing herself up on a hand before thudding down, too weak to hold herself up anymore. She grunted upon impact._

 _"Kai..."_

 _"Y-yeah?"_

 _"I'm proud of you."_

 _And Kai finally let himself cry._

* * *

Camille woke up with a jump, eyes wide. Toxikita was brushing Cole's hair; she hadn't left Camille or Cole, having stepped in as new recruit babysitter. "Not easy being in charge, huh?"

"I see why you gave that second in command role to Skales and not me."

"You should be doing paperwork."

"Eh. I gave that job to Skales."

"Nice call." Toxikita pulled Cole's hair into a tiny ponytail to keep it out of his face. "But you still need to make sure he's doing the paperwork and if it's to a good enough standard."

"Can't you do that?"

"It's my day off. I haven't had one for years."

"Tox, this army is only like a year old and you didn't have a job before the Tyrant took over."

Toxikita winked and chuckled. "I'm a busy gal, Cam." She smiled fondly at the purple haired shapeshifter, who smiled back. "Anyway, you really need to make sure it's being done, and to a good enough standard. I'll give Cole his dosage of the medicine, okay?"

Camille nodded, standing up, yawning and stretching. She looked at Toxikita and asked, "Is the medicine keeping him comatose?"

"No, it's his body getting used to the dosage. Or it might be his body shutting down, ready to die."

"Grim, much?" Camille grimaced, but lightened up at Toxikita's playful shrug. "But hopefully that's not the case, heh. Hopefully he'll survive this and be up and working in no time." She looked at Cole, smiling. "I think he'll be a great help to our team."

Toxikita coughed to get Camille's attention. "Uh, Cam, shouldn't _someone_ be in charge of this 'team'? You have a lot of work to do, checking paperwork, recruiting newbies, sending people out to get people to recruit, keeping everyone in line, looking through the missions, choosing who to send on priority missions, choosing who to choose on not so priority missions, buying weapons from Karloff, selling things to get that money to spend on Karloff's weapons."

She could have continued, but stopped at Camille's tired glare. Her words, though in a joking tone, were completely serious. "Leading an army is busy work, and you're slacking. Shoo." She shooed Camille away, smirking. "Shoo. Shoo."

"All right, all right, I get it, jeez." With a quick roll of her eyes, Camille finally began to walk away, shoulders hunched over.

As soon as the door slammed shut, Toxikita's smirk left her face and she looked down at Cole. His paled neck, due to his hair being in a ponytail, was bare. She sighed, rubbing her face and pulling herself together. She'd told Ed and Edna about her plan. Knowing her actions would be covered up, she managed to make herself take out the syringe from the drawer beside Cole's bed. Holding it up to the light, checking it was the right syringe, Toxikita twisted it upside down and then back upright, watching the gloopy substance be moved by gravity to the bottom. She affirmed to herself that is what she wanted. This was not medicine.

This was poison.

Toxikita spared a glance at Cole. He didn't move. Not even twitch. The only sign he was alive was his quiet breathing and his chest's movement. She looked back at the syringe and then smiled.

"I know you're conscious, Cole. I know you can hear me."

If he did, he made no sign of it.

"And you know why I'm doing this, don't you?" She rubbed her face again. "Cam's been useless since you got into this state, and will continue to be as long as you're in this state. She's a powerful soldier, but she's been determined to see you alive. Says it's because she's been assigned to a job to keep you alive." Toxikita snorted. "It's a bullshit reason, but she wants you alive. If I don't intervene and you die, she'll think herself a failure, having failed to keep you alive. At least this early on, I can blame it on the medicine." She chuckled to herself. "I need her on my team and at her absolute best."

She spared a final glance at Cole, who still didn't respond.

"You won't feel a thing. You'll feel the prick of the needle and then nothing."

She gulped down a lump in her throat.

"You'll forgive me, right? You understand, right? This is for Cam's own good."

He twitched. She took it as a yes.

Closing her eyes and turning her head away, she administered the poison, stabbing the syringe into his neck. Toxikita couldn't watch it go in, but turned around to watch the life fade out of him.

His breathing became laboured, Cole seemed to arch himself before flopping flat, his chest stopped moving, he stopped breathing.

His heart slowed to an eventual halt.

Toxikita watched for an agonising two minutes as the life left the Black Ninja, blankly staring. Once certain he was gone, without return, she stood up and walked to the door to the dorms, telling Edna, "What needed to be done is done."

Edna left through the other door, the one that led to the main part of the building, to find Camille to tell her that Cole had died from the untested medicine.

A lie, but a kind one.

Toxikita went inside her office, curled up in the corner and covered her ears as Camille's pain-filled cries rang throughout the headquarters.

* * *

 _Jay adored the feeling of Kai's neck between his hands. He pinned the Red Ninja to the ground and throttled him. So much suffering would be saved if Kai would just DIE._

 _Kai struggled and screamed for help, kicking at the Blue Ninja's stomach. Through choking, he begged Jay to get off him._

 _"Jay, please, stop."_

 _"Jay, you're hurting me."_

 _"Jay, you're killing me."_

 _"Jay, this isn't what she wanted."_

 _"Jay, I miss her too."_

 _This wasn't what Nya would have wanted, was it? No, she wouldn't have wanted her boyfriend to strangle her older brother to death, no, she wouldn't._

 _"It doesn't matter what Nya would have wanted, Kai," he said, bitter, teetering on the edge of insanity. "But it doesn't matter what she'd have wanted, Kai."_

 _Kai choked, but not just due to being throttled._

 _"Because she's dead."_

 _He struggled less, still struggling, but less._

 _"You let her die." It began sing-songy, almost. "You let her die, you let her die, you let her die, YOU LET HER DIE!" He lifted Kai's head off the ground and slammed it back down. "DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE!" He continued chanting that single word, strangling Kai whilst simultaneously slamming his head into the ground. He began to bleed, barely able to beg Jay to stop._

 _Only then was it that Lloyd burst into the room, shortly followed by Cole and Zane._

 _Even as they dragged him off the battered and beaten Kai, Jay still chanted that single word: "DIE, DIE, DIE, DIE-"_

 _Kai wasn't even conscious anymore, body limp._

 _"You nearly killed him, Jay," Zane scolded, face mixed with fear, disgust and concern._

 _Jay only gave a toothy grin at first, in response, but then, after a period of silence, spoke._

 _"Good."_

* * *

Jay grinned toothily at Neuro. "And little old you thought you were going to survive?" He pointed the barrel of the gun toward Kai lazily. "Did he tell you that you were going to escape? Did he? What did he say? 'Oh, I'll save you, don't worry, I'll bust us out of here'?" Jay pointed the gun back at Neuro. "Guess what, Nerdo? You're dying here. On this spot. You'll never see the light of day again." He gestured with his other hand to Kai. "And all because you got into kahoots with _him_."

Neuro tried to shuffle away, but the guard held him still at his shoulders.

"Of course, when Coley-Woley gave you amnesia, Kai visited you in hospital when you were knocked out." Jay tapped Neuro's forehead. "And he decided to employ you! He chose to teach you how to survive, to show you everything you'd forgotten! He should have told you everything! He should have told you who I was, who died, everything! But NO! He had to be secretive and YOU had to be so scared to venture into his mind! DO IT NOW!"

"I can't..." Neuro was trying his best not to cry. "My powers..."

"Oh hush, you can do it! Easy peasy! Just-" And Jay grabbed and squeezed Neuro's head.

 _She was dying._

 _She was bleeding._

 _She was gone._

 _He was hurting him._

 _He was killing him._

 _He was insane._

 _I want to die I want to die I want to die I want to die I want to die I want to die I want to die I want to die I want to die I wa-_

Neuro screamed in agony, falling onto his knees and holding his head. "STOP IT, IT HURTS!"

Jay giggled, tugging Neuro up by the collar of his shirt. "Good."

"Jay... please..." Kai begged, looking up at the tyrant. "You want me dead, yeah? You can kill me. Just don't hurt him... Don't kill him."

Jay tilted his head so it nearly rested entirely on his shoulder. "I don't want you dead, Kai, not yet. I want you hurting. I want you to know what I went through when everyone was paying attention to your suffering and not mine." He grinned. "You didn't even say anything. You just sucked up all the attention. I rotted, love wise, for how long? How long was she dead until I finally _snapped_?"

Kai didn't respond, turning his cheek toward Jay.

" _Five fucking months._ " Jay spat on Kai. "You won't suffer so long - the gameshow doesn't go on long enough - but you'll get the idea of what it was like for me." Jay finally looked back at Neuro, turning his head upright. "Right! Well, I think that I've chatted a little bit too much!" He steadily aimed the barrel of the gun at Neuro's head. "But do you want some answers before you die?"

Neuro didn't respond.

"Jay, please, don't kill him. Jay, please, please, please," Kai begged, struggling against his chains. "I'll let you do anything, you can do whatever you want to me, just don't hurt him."

Jay grinned down at Neuro, blocking out the pleas. "You want answers, dontcha? You got questions that need to be answered!"

"Jay, please..."

"You were an assassin."

"Jay, don't kill him."

"You worked for me a while."

"Jay, let him live."

"You killed your brother, Griffin."

"Jay, he didn't do anything wrong."

"I loved the leader who died."

"Jay, don't hurt him."

"The leader was Kai's little sister."

"JAY, IF YOU KILL HIM, I'LL KILL YOU."

"You were the minion that killed Nya."

Bang.

* * *

 **A/N: I got very emotional writing this.**

 **Writing Nya's full death, writing Cole's death, writing Jay, writing Kai, writing Neuro's death... It was an emotional ride.**

 **So, MC was Lloyd all along. If you don't get why he put Morro through that (the debt thing, the prostitution thing, etc.), it was because of the possession. Morro's return to life gave him the chance to get his own back.**

 **Feel free to scream at me in the reviews. I live for that.**

 **Two more chapters left. I hope you're enjoying this as much as I am.**

 **~Soul/Tristan.**


	19. Domesday

Neuro's body crumpled to the ground with a thud. The lifeless eyes stared in Kai's direction. When they were alive, they'd looked at him, scared and begging. Now they were a cruel reminder of the life that he witnessed being lost.

"What a shame, eh?" Jay's voice cut through the silence, a knife through butter. "What a shame." He pushed his foot down onto Neuro's head, nudging the bullet wound. "What a _shame_." He turned to Kai. "Guess he's dead!" At Kai's face, he frowned, amusement in his eyes. "C'mon, I thought you'd be glad to see the guy who killed your baby sister dead! I know I am! Well, Nya wasn't my baby sister, but you get the gis-"

"YOU KILLED HIM!" Kai pulled against the chains, trying to stand up.

Jay was bemused yet entertained by the outburst. "Oh? Was it not obvious?" He patted Kai's head and then ruffled his hair. "That's kind of what happens when you get shot in the head, silly!"

"You killed him..."

Jay frowned, an eyebrow raised and part of his lip squashed against the rest. He cocked his head and put a hand on his hip. "You're really not getting this, are you?"

"You... you killed Neuro..."

"Yes! How many times do I have to explain it to you! I! Killed! Neuro!"

"Jay, leave him alone," Zane interjected. "He's gone through enough already."

"Oh yeah! His little sister died and then I killed the person who killed her! Not my fault Kai got attached!" Jay crouched down and continued to ruffle Kai's hair, a fake look of pity and concern. "Poor little Kai..."

"Jay, leave him alone." The robot raised his voice, a growl in his throat.

"Relax, Zane-y, I'm only playing! He's having fun too!" He squeezed Kai's cheeks together. "He's having fun watching all his little friends and strangers dying! Yes he i-"

"LEAVE HIM ALONE!" The chains attached to Zane froze and broke off, and the Nindroid leapt at Jay, pushing him off Kai and pinning him to the ground. His hands rested on Jay's neck, eyes wide with fury.

Jay giggled at the situation, voice strained by the strangling. "Isn't it a powerful place to be in? Above a person, pinning them down, hands on their neck?" He rested his hands on Zane's. "I had power over you, didn't I? More than once, didn't I?" Jay giggled a little more. "How did you find the taste of my lips, Zane? Did you enjoy it?"

Shadow whimpered from behind them. "Zane...?"

"Yes, you pretended I was him, didn't you? You pretended I was Shadow." Jay looked toward Shadow. "Don't worry, Shadow - he didn't want to. I'd kill him if he didn't. He had no choice." He was able to prise Zane's hands off his neck, smiling at the Nindroid, who was frozen, eyes still wild, but with fear and trauma. He moved Zane's frozen body onto the floor. "I really liked you, Zane. Shame it ends like this."

Bang. Bang. Bang.

"ZANE!" Shadow struggled against his chains.

"Oh hush, or I'll kill you too. Won't Zaney be sad that you died shortly after him?" Shadow shrunk away from Jay and stopped fighting. "That's what I thought." He clapped his hands. "Guards! Take them away!"

* * *

 _"Awwwww, my baby brother is growing up!" Jay teasingly ruffled Kai's hair. "Sixteen years old today!" He pulled him into a hug, rubbing his cheek against him. "I'm so proud of you!"_

 _"Jay, I'm only a month younger than you! I'm not your baby brother!" Kai grumbled, trying to pull away from his honorary brother's deadly grip. "So fuck off!"_

 _"Tsk, tsk, is someone stroppy on their birthday?" Jay cracked a playful grin. "C'mon Kai, cheer up! I'll tell you one of my jokes!"_

 _"Jay, that'll only make his mood worse." Cole chuckled. "What's got you in a mood, hm?"_

 _"Nothing! I'm just not Jay's baby brother."_

 _"Yeah, yeah, you're not. He's just not used to have someone younger than him around."_

 _"And now I'm, like, the second oldest! I'd be the oldest if it wasn't for Zane!" Jay grinned. "Anyway, Kai, you gotta get dressed for your party! I'll leave you to it!" And, with that, Jay skipped off, yelling something along the lines, "HE'S JUST WOKEN UP!"_

 _"Oh._ _Right._ That's _happening."_

 _"Aren't you excited?" As Cole sat down on the bed, Kai sat up to get dressed. "You're going to get cake, attention, food, a year old..."_

 _"I am excited, I really am," Kai said as he pulled on his shirt, voice strained and muffled as he did. "It's just..."_

 _"Just what? You don't feel well? You don't like cake? You're having an existential crisis because you're a year older?"_

 _"What? No. No. I'm just not used to this." He examined his pyjama trousers, wondering if they'd be suitable for a day in._

 _"Not used to it?" Cole raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Oh. Because your parents..."_

 _"Yeah._ That. _" Kai's voice was a little bit bitter as he decided that they were suitable trousers to wear. "I don't really remember much beforehand anyway. It's like I've never had a birthday party." The Fire Master chuckled. "I remember one time Nya stuck a candle in an apple when I was going on a health nut phase for my birthday. I ate that apple, you know. Even blew out the candle. I lit it. No way I'd let her light it, even if she was the older sister for most of my life."_

 _Cole chuckled. "So I'm guessing Nya didn't get birthdays either?"_

 _"What? No, she got birthdays. We'd count down the days a week before and I'd make her a birthday cake and get her a present, even if it was something stupid like a spanner that I'd forged myself. The best present I ever got her was a glass that had 'N' printed on it."_

 _"Does she still have it?"_

 _"No, I broke it. Accidentally!"_

 _"I can't believe you haven't had a birthday party for five years."_

 _"Kaiiii!" Jay ran past again. "Are you done yet?"_

 _"Yeah, yeah, I'm dressed." Kai smirked appreciatively at Cole before looking at the Blue Ninja._

 _"We're all waiting on you. Cole, remember to blindfold him!"_

 _"You're blindfolding me?! You didn't tell me this!"_

 _"Blame Lloyd. It was his idea. You trust me, right?"_

 _"I don't even trust you with the kitchen, Cole," Kai joked. "But seriously... thanks for letting me talk to you. I don't know what it is, but talking about Nya and her birthdays and the lack of mine... It helped me. I didn't even want to get out of bed this morning."_

 _"I know that this entire 'guy taking over Ninjago and threatening our lives' thing is stressful for you, bu-"_

 _"It happens every day."_

 _Cole grinned at Kai. "I know it does. If you ever need to talk to me, I'll happily listen."_

 _"Good talk."_

 _"Good talk. Now. Blindfold. On."_

* * *

"Awww, is Kai thinking about his sixteenth birthday?" Jay made invisible doodles on the window of Kai's prison as he watched the Fire Ninja cry. "Wasn't that a fun time though? You had cake, presents, food. We even watched one of your favourites movies. We let you stay in your pyjama trousers. So why are you crying? Did we do something wrong?" Jay's face held something so close to sympathy, so close to concern. He looked hurt. And then he cracked a grin. "Did I upset my baby brother?"

"You killed him..."

"Oh! Right! You're not remembering the fun times you had on your birthday! You're remembering that it was only two weeks before your little sister died! Silly me!" Jay slapped his forehead and then slammed it against Kai's window. "She died because of you, Kai. You chose to get up. You chose to stand there. You chose to let her take the blow. You chose to take her away from medical attention. You chose to TAKE HER AWAY!"

Kai whimpered, shaking his head.

"Oh yes you did! Yes you did! It's your fault. Everything is your fault. You ran away from me, Kai. You ran away from all of us. I hoped that your little suicide, your little runaway would give me the attention I so craved, I so needed. But they ignored me. They shunned me. I was a murderer, they said. I caused you to try to kill yourself, I caused you to run away. You split the team up. You took them away from me." Jay grinned, pressing his forehead into Kai's window even more. "So you could say I took Neuro away from you. I took everyone, everything away from you."

"Stop it..."

"I wasn't done there. I took everything away from everyone. Families, I tore apart, like you had. Friends, I tore apart, like you had. Everything I did, in your spitting image. I just want to be you, Kai. Because you get attention. I JUST GET THE DIRT."

"Jay... I'm sorry."

"Oh, _now_ you're sorry! When was your apology for letting Nya die? When was your apology for taking so long killing yourself? Where's my apology, Kai?!"

"I just... did..."

"Too little, too late, Kai. Maybe if you'd apologised before, you wouldn't be here. Life would be normal. Sure, Nya would be dead, but we'd mourn together. Everyone I killed, they'd be alive. This never would have happened." Jay took his head off the window and went back to doodling on it, expressionless. "It's your fault they're dying Kai. It's your fault this happened. It's your fault Neuro died."

"Please... stop..." Kai, who had been lying on the bed, rolled over onto his side, trying to block Jay's words out.

"I'm just telling you the truth. Haven't you always wanted the truth? And you've always been a stickler for the past..." Jay grinned, giggling. "Haven't you, Kai? I'm telling you the truth and giving you a history lesson!"

"Mr Jay, sir, it's nearly time."

"Ugh, schedules. Why continue my gameshow when I could simply play with you?" He unlocked the door to get into Kai's room and then had his guard lock it behind him. "We'll have fun in here while we wait."

And they did have fun.

Well.

 _Jay_ had fun.

* * *

 _Zane had made the best cake that day - a chocolate cake with vanilla icing and strawberries (though there was a suspicious fingerprint in the back of the icing that Cole insisted wasn't his). It was small, but three tiers high. It was three tiers of chocolate-y, vanilla-y, strawberry goodness. It lasted them the day, since Zane didn't want it all gone at once._

 _Cole had had to take Kai to the living room, blindfolded once more. "I don't see the point of this," Kai grumbled as the blindfold covered his eyes, sending him into darkness._

 _"It was Lloyd's idea. We wanted to be able to surprise you with what we'd done to the place. Nya and Jay were fine with it."_

 _"Why did they need to be fine with it?"_

 _"They planned everything out, you know. Nya knows you more than anyone else and Jay likes to plan stuff. He did it on one of his little blueprints, the nerd." Kai heard Cole laugh. "They planned out everything - they designed the cake, they bought and made the banners and those little triangle things, they even chose the wrapping for the presents. The only thing they didn't do was buy the others' presents for them. Buuuut they had a hand in that."_

 _It was Kai's turn to laugh now. "Nya always was a perfectionist... She'd want everything to be okay on my birthday, even though..."_

 _"Yeah._ Him _." They both went silent. "Nya wanted you have to have the best birthday. Said it'd relax you. It'd help you. The other Elemental Masters are helping out, they've taken over today." Cole squeezed Kai's shoulder. "Today's about you."_

 _"I thought everyday was about me," Kai teased._

 _"Well, this day is especially about you. Now, you ready to go?"_

 _"This is safe, right?"_

 _"Yeah. I was the test dummy for this."_

 _"I bet that went well."_

 _"Oh hush, birthday boy."_

 _"Cole! Hurry up! My arms are beginning to ache and Jay's not even standing anymore!"_

 _"We're_ _coming, Lloyd! Come on. Let's save them the pain."_

* * *

"Isn't this fun, Kai?"

"Are you enjoying yourself, Kai?"

"What a fun game this is, Kai!"

Jay taunted Kai as he shot people down, yelling 'bang' with every shot.

Kai was no longer a 'contestant'. He was in with Jay in the middle, on his knees, a metal collar with a chain connected to it on his neck. Jay held the chain he was connected to. Whenever he wanted to move Kai or drag him around, he'd pull him around with the chain. It always hurt.

But nothing hurt worse than knowing the people were dying because of him.

Shadow lived a few more rounds, but Kai saw that Shadow wanted to die. He'd lost everything, really. His freedom, his youngest brother, his lover (it'd been discovered shortly after Zane's death) and now, his will to live. But it was fine. He wasn't getting out alive.

It was Kai that ended up killing him.

They'd been dragged back to their prison, but Kai 'broke free' (he wasn't even chained up, Jay was personally dragging him) and strangled Shadow to death. Even as Shadow struggled for air, the Fire Ninja could see the gratitude. It was more haunting than the murder.

Jay wasn't happy, but Kai didn't care. At least he'd allowed Shadow to have an honourable death. Anything was better than being killed by Jay. "Kaiiii," Jay whined, eyes burning with anger. "You killed Shadow. He was meant to die in a round! And anyway, murder is bad, Kai. I thought you would have known that."

"He wanted to die. You took everything from him. I gave him mercy."

"It's still murder, Kai."

"You murder people every day! You're a hypocrit-"

Jay slapped Kai. His nails dragged across his skin, leaving small cuts. Drops of blood began to emerge, staining Kai's tan skin. The Fire Master instantly went quiet with a hushing gulp. Jay himself grinned, pleased with the silence. "Don't test me, Kai. I have the power to kill you whenever I want."

He wanted to die. Both of them knew it. But he didn't want to die by Jay's hands. A period of silence passed.

"Anyway, I'd best chain you to the wall."

"Wha- you said I didn't have to!"

"You went against my wishes, killing a contestant and then refusing to listen to me. Your punishment is to have your V.I.P privileges taken away for the night." He chained Kai to the wall by his wrists, making the bounds extra tight (when Kai tried to attack him, he swiftly dodged and made a sassy remark of, "Kinky!"). "Ta-ta, Kai! Happy sleeping!" With that, he waved an exaggerated goodbye before leaving the dungeon. The door was open wide, specifically to mock Kai.

"Let me go!"

But no one heard, or listened.

After nearly quarter of an hour had passed, Kai gave up on trying to demand his freedom or demand Jay talked to him. He hung his head and sighed, the chains loosening as he relaxed his straight back and lowered his arms. "I..." Where did he start? Neuro. Neuro was a good start. "I'm sorry Neuro. I told you we were going to make it out of here. You trusted me. You... you made a mistake, loving me..." He laughed a little. "But I... I loved you... You made me hope for better things..." He laughed weakly again. "And now, with you, that hope is dead. I've given up... because you're..." He had to force out the words, gulping back tears. "You're gone. You're dead. And... And we didn't... we didn't get to kiss one last time... I miss you... I love you..." His lips tasted salty, his cheeks wet; he gasped for breaths now. "I... do you forgive me, sweetheart...?"

The silence dragged on for an agonising ten minutes. The floor became wet, Kai's cheeks wetter, his lips saltier, his gasps for breath deeper and more in number. Who else? Who else was there to be sorry to?

Kai knelt on the floor for ten minutes, failing to suppress his tears and apologising to everyone he'd ever done wrong by. "I should have told Neuro the truth," he mumbled, looking up. Jay was sat on his bed, grinning. "I wanted to protect him and... I thought the truth would hurt him."

"Funny. It did. The truth killed him."

Kai glared before hanging his head.

"I am the truth, Kai. I smash people's hopes and dreams. I destroy their peace. I cause riots and squash them in seconds. I am brutal. I am the Truth."

"You're a tyrant. And batshit insane."

Jay chuckled, cradling Kai's head against his chest in a tight grip. "Mm, I am. But at least I am honest. I give people answers before I end them. I am better than you in that sense."

Kai made a single squirm in a half-hearted attempt to escape the grip.

"That's why I chase you, Kai. That's why I want you gone. For the Truth must crush the Lie. And you, my friend, are the biggest liar of them all."

* * *

 _He killed his sister. The kid, barely fifteen, a year younger than him, was his little sister's murderer. Kai clenched his fists to stop himself from strangling him._

 _"Kai." Shadow was standing at the end of Neuro's bed, not looking at the comatose patient, but at the single visitor. "You're aware of what he's done, aren't you?"_

 _He knew the list. Joined the former tyrant's side. Killed thousands of people to stay on the former tyrant's good side. Killed his sister, causing a rift in the Ninja, causing Kai to go into denial, causing Jay to go insane, causing Kai to try commit suicide, causing Jay to try murder him, causing him to run away. Killed more people as an assassin. Caused the Hospital Massacre._

 _"I'm aware." The Fire Ninja rubbed his face. "Mm... Are you proud of your youngest brother?" His voice was cold and mocking._

 _"No, I'm not, Kai." Shadow leant forward. "He killed his own brother. I hate him for it."_

 _"And yet... you love him. You keep him alive, despite what everyone says. People hate_ you _for it. You're wasting resources. How do you do it?"_

 _"He's still my little brother, Kai. If Nya was still alive and did these horrible things, you'd love her."_

 _"If she was still alive, everything would be back to normal. This never would have happened." Kai glared at Shadow. "But I understand your point." He rubbed his eyes in a circular motion with his fingers. "I want to take Neuro under my wing. I want to look after him. He's lost his memories, right?"_

 _"Yes, bu-"_

 _"Then he won't remember anything. He won't remember what's happened. He won't remember killing people. Maybe, if I step in, I can keep the truth from him and he can live as a normal person in an apocalypse."_

 _"He'll found out one day. He's a mind reader, Kai, he'll read your mind and find the truth. He'll probably continue the cycle, going back to assassinating people."_

 _"He was hit on the head, yes?" Kai tapped Neuro's temple, not breaking eye contact from Shadow, who nodded. "Then won't his telepathy be all screwed up? And anyway, who knows, maybe he won't remember he's a mind reader. Maybe he'll have to relearn it."_

 _"... Kai... He killed your sister... Are you sure you can stand to be around him?" Shadow pulled a chair from the side of an unused bed in front of Kai. "Neuro's not the only one with head problems. This entire thing has taken a toll on you... You might not be well enough to look after him..."_

 _"I'm fine, Shadow. I'll be fine." He put a hand in Neuro's fluffy locks of hair, fiddling with a lock. He sniffed his hand after a second, nose scrunching up in confusion before a gentle smile was on his face. "Smells like coconuts, hm?"_

 _Shadow chuckled. "He always has. Not sure if it's the hair dye for the white bit of hair, if it's the shampoo or just a natural smell."_

 _Kai smiled slightly, but his eyes remained sad, glossy with stifled tears. "I miss her, Shadow. I miss her smile, her laugh, her voice..." He choked back his sobs. "She... she smelt like coconuts..."_

 _"Oh... Kai..." Shadow reached out for a hug but Kai looked toward Neuro to reject the contact. "I'm so sorry... Are you sure you want to...?"_

 _"I'm sure. I want him to have another chance."_

 _"What if he reads your mind or remembers somehow?"_

 _Kai was silent for a while, running a hand through Neuro's hair again. His expression was unreadable, stoic, as he looked from the telepath to Shadow._

 _"Then I'll kill him."_

* * *

Jay giggled as he kicked his legs against the side of Kai's bed, watching the chained up Fire Ninja tell the story of how he came to live with Neuro through his tears. "But you didn't end up killing him, didya, didya?" He nudged Kai with a foot. "Nuh uh, nuh uh. You left murdering him to me." He flopped over onto the bed on his back, then his side and then onto his stomach, moving round to face Kai again, kicking his feet gleefully. "The Lie exists to do two things - to hide the Truth or to protect people from their weakness. It's never used to hurt a person. Liars like you lie to hide your pain or to save others from pain."

Kai looked away, sniffling.

"Some lie out of habit, can't forget them, can we? But habits all stem from somewhere, don't they? Sometimes it's a brain sickness, like you and I have!" He pressed the tips of his index finger into Kai's temple. "Though your sickness isn't like mine." He sniggered. "But sometimes, habits stem from doing a thing too often. That's how you got your habit, isn't it? Lying about your life, lying about your past, lying about Nya, lying about her death, lying to everyone all the time! It's not nice to keep secrets, Kai. Someone's been naughty, mm hm, mm hm."

Kai didn't respond, shaking slightly.

"Oh, oh no, oh, oh no, no, no, no, Kai, I'm not going to do that to you again. I mean-" Jay produced his gun from his pocket and prodded Kai's temple with it. "I _could_ -" He then tapped the underside of Kai's chin with it. "-but that'd ruin all the fun and games. I'm saving you for last, Kai. You can watch everyone, fifty nine of them, die. Of course, you've watched quite a few people die - there's only thirty four people left, aren't there?"

"Fifty nine?"

"Oh yes! I'm killing the twenty guards too! It'll just be you and I left. No guard to pull you up, no one to watch your fate. It'll be just you and me, like the old times." He cocked his head. "Remember when we used to play video games together? You, me, Zane, Cole and Lloyd? Isn't it funny? At least one of them is dead. I bet Coley's gone too, and Lloyd's not too far behind! He won't be easy to get, though, he is the Golden Ninja! Duh!" He smacked his head with his hand, giggling. "Anyway, it'd always be us two against each other, and I'd never win."

"... What are you getting at?"

"This time, Kai, oh ho ho! THIS TIME, KAI, _I'LL_ BE THE WINNER! AND YOU, _YOU'LL_ BE IN SECOND PLACE!" Jay finally got off the bed and crouched in front of Kai and pressed his fingers against Kai's chapped lips. "All I ever wanted was a bit of attention. But you were better, you deserved it more." He giggled softly. "And now, the entire world's eyes are on me."

"They're terrified of you."

"I know." He leaned forward and whispered into Kai's ear, "And I love it."

"You're crazy..." Kai's voice was barely a whisper.

"I KNOW!" Jay yelled, right into Kai's ear before leaning back. "I know I'm crazy, Kai, I love being crazy! I have not a care in the world! All I want is your severed head bleeding in my palms!" He wrapped his hands around his neck and squeezed, the Fire Master spluttering. "Relax, relax, I'm not killing you yet. Remember my plan?"

"Sir? It's nearly time."

"Hm? Oh, thanks." Jay stood up to give the guard an appreciative grin, the guard uneasy. "Just get the prisoners ready and I'll bring my favourite. He can sit beside me and watch the fourteen die!" He nudged Kai's cheek with the tip of his shoe. "Won't that be fun?"

Kai glared but said nothing, Jay continuing to nudge his cheek and giggling.

"C'mon Kai, crack a smile! Won't?! That?! Be?! FUN?!" The nudging got harsher until Jay was practically kicking his face. "We'll be just ten minutes, so you and the others should get the prisoners ready. Shoo. Shoo. Shoo. SHOO!"

The guard, rolling his eyes, shut the door behind him and yelled to the other twenty guards.

"You're going to kill him..."

"Yup! And it's not going to be a shock to him. I've killed other guards, they're all aware I'm going to kill them at some point. Me choosing them for this job is basically Death Row for them!" He pulled Kai up to his feet and sorted out the chains. "I really didn't want to do this, Kai, but you acted up and killed one of my prisoners. Hopefully you learnt something."

"I did learn something?"

"Oh?" Jay smirked as he adjusted Kai's shirt collar. "And what's that?"

"That you're fucking insane."

"Well, they always did call you slow."

* * *

 _Jay wrapped his arms around Kai from behind him. "So, birthday boy, enjoying your party?" He squeezed him tightly but his grip loosened almost immediately. "Your sister and I worked super hard on it, you know?"_

 _"Cole told me. And I am, really, but-"_

 _"Yeah, yeah, yeah, the guy taking over Ninjago. Cole told you about the Elemental Masters, right?" The Lightning Ninja didn't wait for an answer, continuing without a pause and interrupting Kai in the process. "It'll be fine. We need a break and time to recover from our injuries." He squeezed him briefly again before finally letting him go and then patting him on the back. "C'mon, open some presents!"_

* * *

 _"Why are you doing this?!" Griffin backed away, visibly shaking. "We're friends! More than friends,_ _we're brothers!" Giving a glance to his broken, discarded sword, he felt the back of his shoulder hit against the wall. Tears ran down his cheeks. "Neuro... please..."_

 _"You're not my friend and you're certainly not my brother." Neuro chuckled. "Sorry, 'bro', but a lot of people are paying a lot of money for your head and... who knows how much money I'll get? Perhaps more than you stole!"_

 _"I had no other choice, you understand that - you... you used to be my partner! And then-"_

 _"And then I got kidnapped and dragged into the assassin life. Poor little Neuro." The telepath ran a finger on the blade of his trench knife, his disinterest in Griffin's excuses and pleas showing on his face. "Well, kidnapped isn't the right word, is it? No, no. I was_ sold _, wasn't I? I wonder how Karloff and Shadow would react to hear that you hadn't only taken me away from them so we could join the side of the former tyrant but that you_ sold _me!"_

 _"Neuro, I'm so sorry..."_

 _"That's not going to cut it. You've done bad things. Forced me to join the guy that was going to kill our brothers, sold me off for a bit of cash, stole, blah, blah, blah. Someone has to make you pay and, how ironic, it's the very kid you thought you'd gotten rid of. Turns out my 'owners' were assassins and wanted to teach someone their way of life before they clocked off. And now... I'm here, you're there and it comes round in a nice cycle." Neuro grinned._

 _Griffin was still shaking and crying. "Please... I was offered so much money."_

 _"Oh yeah? I'll get double, triple, quadruple, for bringing your head to the right person." Slipping the trench knife back into his pocket, the assassin took out his staff. "And, even if I wasn't going to get jackshit for killing you, I'd finish you anyway. You don't know how satisfying it is to kill the guy who ruined your life... or how satisfying it is to be powerful."_

 _"You're crazy, Neuro! Absolutely crazy!"_

 _He shrugged, beginning to approach him slowly. "Maybe. But it pays."_

 _"I'm your friend! Your older brother! We can talk this out! You'd be cruel to kill one of your brethren! You don't want to do that to Karloff and Shadow, right? You know how it felt to lose your mother... You don't want to put them through a similar pain, right?" Griffin hoped the words would reach Neuro and save his life, or at least distract him so he could run away._

 _The assassin did seem to pause. "You thought that'd save your skin, huh?" He laughed at the foolishness. "Griffin, Griffin, Griffin... You saw me change... You should know I don't care. It's why I'm not going home." Neuro laughed again, a bit louder. "And anyway, I think you're forgetting something."_

 _Griffin pulled himself into a sitting position as Neuro stood over him, glaring._

 _"I've killed so many, the lines have blurred between right and wrong. Everyone is a possible victim or a possible client. I'm blind now, Griffin. I can't see. To me, you're just a face, a victim, a person."_

 _The end of the staff, tip whittled into a blade, poked Griffin's chest._

 _"_ _I killed one of the Ninja's sister. I basically started all of this!" The tip stabbed into his chest and Griffin cried out in pain. Neuro spun the staff around, hitting and stabbing Griffin in places such as his stomach, his chin, his neck, his face. He pressed a button on the staff which turned the staff into a rifle, barrel pointing at Griffin's head. Bleeding, beaten and battered, Griffin barely had the strength to look up the barrel of the gun, let alone escape._

 _"Do you_ really _think I care about killing my older brother?"_

 _The gun fired. Griffin sat, limp, eyes still wide and open._

 _"I thought not." Neuro took out one of his trench knives and began to cut off Griffin's head, the body being too much for him to carry with his height. No one would pay mind to a ten year old-looking guy carrying the head of one of Ninjago's most renowned thieves. They'd probably congratulate him, considering it._

 _Despite that, Neuro found himself keeping to the alleyways, keeping out of sight until he got to the alleyway he called Home. Others called it the Market. He was an infamous salesman at the Market, selling anything he could get his hands on. If you couldn't give a high enough price and pestered him long enough, you'd become his next sale. People knew where to come._

 _He brought the entirety of Griffin's body, one a time, in the course of an hour, and waited a few more hours for a customer. Customers could buy a favour or someone he had on sale._

 _"Oi, you Neuro?" That was an unfamiliar voice, and that peaked the assassin's curiosity._

 _"Yeah, it's me."_

 _The speaker approached - dark skin, dark eyes, darker hair. Cole. The Earth Ninja. The honorary brother of Kai, the older brother of Nya, whom he'd killed. "My sword wants a conversation with you."_

 _"Well, you're out of luck, I'm running a busin-"_

 _Cole grabbed his throat. "You have no choice in the matter."_

* * *

The last person, aside from the guards, fell to the floor, dead. "Lovely!" Jay giggled, clapping his hands. "Now, guards, I want you all to stand in line for me, okay? You know what's coming next!" When the guards hesitated, Jay shot one down, everyone else startled. "STAND! IN! LINE!"

The guards shuffled into a line, trying to look stoic but clearly terrified - the eldest was thirty nine, the youngest was fourteen.

"Kai, go sit behind the line against the wall." Jay didn't even give him a chance to move, already dragging him over to the wall he was talking about.

Once he'd put Kai in his place and back in front of the line, Jay aimed his gun and began to fire. "Bam, bam, bang, bang! Triple kill, double kill, no mercy run! BAM! BAM! BAM!" He stopped to reload the gun with seven left. "Goodness me, I'm so sorry about this, folks." He was walking over the bodies of the guards, blood spurting out upon impact due to the pressure. "This would make such a nice carpet! Warm and squishy and under the feet!"

Kai tried to divert his eyes but something kept his eyes glued to the massacre. It made him feel sick but he couldn't stop watching.

The last guard fell dead at Kai's feet, the Fire Ninja edging his foot away instinctively. Still walking on the bodies, Jay was finally at Kai.

"I win, Kai." Jay crouched down. "How does it feel, hm?" He brushed some of Kai's hair, which had flopped down into a fluffy mess once again. "To once have everything... love... joy... a home... friends... and to suddenly lose it all... to have your love slain before you... to be stripped of joy... to have your home a prison... to watch your friends be condemned..."

"... It feels like I've lost her all over again."

" _Her_? No, no, Kai, say her name! She's no _her_ , Kai!"

"... It fells like I've lost... Nya all over again..."

"Good. That's what I want." Jay smirked and then, dramatically hanging his head and speaking in a low tone, said, "Are you sorry, Kai?"

Kai had to hang his head and choke back a sob. "Yes... So very..."

"I'll give you a quick and easy death, because I've made you suffer enough." Jay held up his head to show Kai the glittering tears in his eyes. "I'm going to miss you, you know that? Ruling Ninjago and killing all your little friends and everyone I once protected won't be the same without chasing after you. But I can't stop now. I've gone so far. You understand, right?"

Kai nodded, unable to hold back his own tears.

Jay planted a kiss on Kai's cheek before standing up, on the floor now. "I wish I could have saved her."

The Fire Ninja burst into sobs. The gun shook in Jay's hands as his tears ran down his face.

"I'M SO SORRY, KAI!"

Bang.


	20. The End

Kai's death was good for Toxikita's business, that was one thing.

All but two Ninja was dead - one was the Tyrant and the other one's location was unknown. Their heroes were practically gone.

Change happens. Toxikita became the new hope, the new hero. Everyone thought that being in her army guaranteed safety. Toxikita, who had assumed her position as the leader after Cole's death, was more than happy to recruit all the people of Ninjago who could offer something to the army.

"We can't fight, but we can offer our services? Maybe you want a blacksmith, maybe you want an assistant...? If you can't take us, please just take our children." Some mother was bugging poor Skales again. He was in charge of recruitment, told to recruit anyone and everyone who walked in through the doors. But this woman wouldn't let him get a word in edgeways, so the snake was left stammering and stuttering.

"Ma'am? It's fine. It's a policy to recruit everyone," Camille said, grinning at Skales' relieved face. "We can train your kids to fight and you... do you have any talents in medicine? Nursing? Organising? Writing?"

"I was a trainee nurse before all this, I can help out in the infirmary... I assume you have one of those... and I'm used to doing paperwork."

"Perfect. I'm going to be doing a tour group soon for all the new recruits, so if you'd like to have a wander round for about half an hour before you're called back into the hall, that'd be lovely. Keep an eye on your kids and deposit any weapons in the armoury, which is the closet on your left, Echo will take you to it." Camille gestured to the approaching rusty robot. "Don't worry Skales. If any other loud and obnoxious people start rambling and ranting at your face and won't let you speak, you can just beckon for me." Camille patted his shoulder.

"Thanksssss, Camille." There was a short period of silence as they regarded each other. "But... now you're holding up the line." They grinned as he gestured for her to go away. "Shoo. Go on. Shoo."

Toxikita, meanwhile, sat in her office and doodled on the side of her paperwork. It was just sending out confirmation to the hospitals that, yes the medicines enclosed were legally tested, no one was harmed in testing (a lie, of course, but she'd push Cole's memory aside - plus, it wasn't the medicine dosage that killed him), they were safe for use, legal stuff. Since all of them would be coming to the HQ to assist with the new recruits and for a meeting, she could just hand the paperwork over, so there was no need to shove them in the envelopes and waste her pen's ink.

"You wouldn't think there'd be so much paperwork in an apocalypse, would ya?"

Camille's voice startled Toxikita, and she stopped doodling and looked up at Camille, who was sitting on a table, legs kicking under it. "Cam! Didn't see you there. I was just doodling on the paperwork I have to send to Nadakhan. Hospital stuff, you know?"

"X, P and everyone from our other bases are here. Practically everyone... alive is in our headquarters, except from Lloyd and Misako and, of course, the Tyrant." Camille's tone was stern but her expression was soft. "It's a safe haven, especially after the Tyrant paraded Neuro, Kai, Zane and Shadow's corpses around on sticks. They're like flags now. It's sick."

"I'm sure He wanted Kai to die and that's the only reason He started this. So why hasn't it ended?"

"It's gone on too far. Could we ever adjust back to normal life?" Camille sighed, leaning against the wall. "I'm so used to fighting for my life, I don't think I could just... go back. I'm not the only one, Tox, and you know it."

"... So tell me. Any familiar faces?" Toxikita stumbled her swiftly spoken words. "You said everyone alive is here."

"Ash is here. You remember Ash? From the Tournament?" Camille smiled. "Good times, eh?"

"Mm. 'Good' times." She chuckled. "You liked him - you were friends with him."

"Knew him beforehand. We were childhood friends. Parents thought we were going to be in a relationship but after he came out as gay, I let him stay with me after his parents threw him out. We got invited to the Tournament together, actually."

"Backstory, huh? I didn't know anyone really but I'm glad to have met you." Toxikita stood up. "Anyone else?"

"Well, Karloff is here and he's probably going to making weapons." Camille continued to list off a couple people, mostly Elemental Masters who hadn't yet died. "I'm so surprised Karloff is still around." At Toxikita's raised eyebrow, Camille continued, "Well think about it. His youngest brother got kidnapped, his second younger brother disappeared too, then the older of those two got killed by an assassin and, until he was found in an alleyway where the assassin sold his most recent kills, his youngest brother was assumed dead."

Toxikita raised her other eyebrow. "Fascinating."

"And that's not it. His youngest brother didn't even remember him because his memories had been completely wiped. So he had to live with one of his younger brothers being dead and another who would never know who he truly was. And now... all three of his brothers are dead. He's alone. But he's alive. I'm really amazed." Camille smiled slightly. "I'd have killed myself a long time ago."

Toxikita opened her mouth to speak again, probably to agree with her friend, but the door burst open and Ash and Karloff came in, the Metal Master carrying Ronin. Ash's leg was poised as if he'd just kicked the door down. "Help him!" Ash wildly gestured to Ronin.

"Ash, sir, this isn't the infirmar-"

"THEY'RE COMING!" Another voice began to yell in the distance. "HIDE!" Karloff and Ash were pushed over, Ronin giving a loud cry as Karloff fell on him. "SHUT THE FUCKING DOOR!" The person yelling slammed the door shut and yelled through it, "I'M SORRY!"

"Lloyd?!" Camille gasped. "What are you doing her-"

The familiar sound of the Tyrant's minions and robots bursting in and beginning to shoot at people interrupted her. Instinctively, everyone ducked down, except Ash, Karloff and Ronin as they were already on the floor. Five minutes of shooting and screaming passed before there was silence. The human minions began to confer between each other.

"We only have time to search a few rooms. Kill anyone and everyone in the infirmary and then take their weapons, take as many as you can carry. That's all we'll have time for. He wants us back to prepare."

"Why did we even come here?"

"To kill as many as we could. To prevent a battle. He's hoping for one though. You know Him. Loves a challenge."

"He's batshit insane."

"We're all aware, Karen."

"My name is Timothy."

They didn't talk after that - a few more doors were kicked open, a few more shots were fired, some people screamed but no one opened the door to Toxikita's office. Soon, there was a ripple of a murmur about leaving and a final slam of the door.

Camille and Toxikita, who had moved behind the desk and were practically cuddling, allowed themselves to relax and untangled their arms. "Karloff, check the doors. Make sure it's not a trick."

Karloff nodded, lifting himself off Ronin (he had to check for breathing and a pulse as Ronin didn't respond, but he was fine). He knelt on one knee for a second before crawling over Ronin and Ash to the door.

Lloyd was underneath the table Camille had been sitting on, shaking and trying to not cry. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, some bleeding. There was a gun wound in his shoulder but it didn't look dangerous. One of his eyes was squinting and the flesh around it was bloody and purple. He tried to tell Karloff to not open the door, that they'd be waiting for him, but he ended up spluttering blood.

Karloff only opened the door a little bit but it was enough to see the coast was clear. He tried to open it more but something was wedging the door shut. Upon looking down, he saw what was keeping the door wedged shut.

Skales' body, mangled and riddled with bullet holes.

"You... You not want to go out there..." Karloff shut the door and sat against it, giving out a single sigh. "No one there but..."

"We need to leave at some point, Karloff," Toxikita argued, standing up. "And if there's no one there, we should look for casualties, people who also liv-"

"No one else alive, Toxikita. Everyone... dead." Karloff rubbed his face, tone almost angry. "Everyone in city, gone. It only us now."

"I call bullshit, now let me out!" As she neared the door, the Metal Master stood up to block her way. " _Karloff_. Let me out."

"You go out there, you die."

"You said they're gone."

"You die of heartbreak. Everything you work for is gone. It for your own good." Karloff pushed her back as she walked forward. "No."

"Let me through!"

"I not losing you as well!" His tone was now angry but, as she glared at him, she noticed the purple bags around his eyes, the puffiness of his bloodshot eyes and the trembling of his mouth, she saw why. Her glare softened.

"Karloff..."

"Karloff _not_ losing you as well." His voice was choked up, his eyes were watering and he was gasping slightly to hold back the tears.

"You're not going to." Toxikita stepped back, then stepped forward when she stepped on Ash's hand. "But we need to check the other rooms. See if anyone else lived. Please."

"... Take this." From the inside of his jacket, Karloff brought a small pistol, silver, which he gave to her, though it wasn't suited to her hand. "Karloff didn't give all Karloff's weapons to you."

"I suppose that's a good thing now."

"Karloff sure no one alive out there but... just in case."

Lloyd slowly emerged from under the table. "I wasn't fast enough."

"It's fine."

"No, it's not. My mother and I were roaming the streets, looking for everyone. I saw someone going inside and realised that everyone was going inside it. Then... His minions came. They started shooting at us and we had to run. We should have run somewhere faraway but we thought that we could make it to your place, warn everyone and at least a few people would live." He had to pause, gasping back sobs. "My... My mother didn't make it and I realised that neither would anyone else. I ran in anyway, tried to warn everyone and I saw you all... And then..." He was crying now, the bloody, purple bruise around clearly making his tears hurt. "I should have sacrificed myself... maybe everyone else would have lived."

"Well it's too late for to whine about our mistakes," Toxikita said. "Give me one of your guns. And give me some extra ammo." Lloyd chucked her one of his guns and some extra bullets. "Thanks."

"Do you want me to go out with you?" Camille slowly stood from behind the desk.

"No, I'll be fine." Toxikita looked down at the pistol she was holding, then at Karloff to give him a reassuring smile. He shuffled to the side of the door and leant against the wall so she could get past.

Of course, instead of opening the door slowly, Toxikita kicked it open. Her eyes darted around for any threat.

They widened and she nearly dropped the gun when she saw all of the mangled bodies. All she'd worked for, all her friends, all her recruits... The kick had been hard enough to move Skales' body but it was still in plain sight. She nearly dropped to her knees.

"They even killed Nadakhan... a fricking Djinn... immortal..." She stepped out more, treading over bullet riddled corpses. "Everything I've worked for is gone..." She wrapped her arms around herself, the pistol slipping from her grasp as she fell to her knees and cried.

Karloff trying to give her comfort, Camille and Lloyd checked everywhere else. No one was in their rooms, they had to help manage the steady flow of new recruits. Some people had been in the infirmary, but it was one of the checked places. Their weapons were gone, everyone was dead and their leader was in the arms of a blacksmith, crying.

"We're the only ones left, aren't we?"

"Isn't there that one guy? He wouldn't kill people and used to mentor the Ninja before shit went south?" Ash called from inside the office.

"Wu? Yeah. There's him. Aside from him and the Tyrant and his cronies, we're the only ones left, I mean."

"What are we going to do?" Ronin's weakened voice was barely audible over Toxikita's crying, let alone coherent, and Ash had to yell it.

Toxikita, choking back her sobs, could only say one thing:

"I'm going to fucking kill Him."

* * *

 _Jay pulled Kai into a dance of some sorts. "Come on, Kai, it's your party! You gotta loosen up and there's no way to loosen up like dancing!"_

 _"Jay, I'm not a dancer and you know it. I leave that to Cole and his dad." Kai rolled his eyes and tried to free his hands from Jay's. "I want to look at some more of my presents and open the boxes, you know, so let me go."_

 _"Kaiiiiii, you gotta have a dance."_

 _"No."_

 _"Kai, just one dance. We put on your favourite songs for you."_

 _"You have never asked me what music I like."_

 _Jay grinned. "We didn't need to. Nya stole your phone and went through your playlist." He took Kai's phone out of his pocket and waved it in front of him. "Oh! We forgot to give it back."_

 _"Mm. Thanks, Jay." Kai freed his hand and put it on the table next to them. "Jay, please don't make me dance. I'm really bad at it and you know it." He tried to tug his other hand free but Jay just pulled him uncomfortably close to his chest. "You're dating my sister!"_

 _The Lightning Master winked. "You mean you've never wanted a taste of me?" His eyebrows wiggled - Kai dreaded what was coming next. "Shocking." There it was. "And it's just dancing. It's not gay."_

 _"Is there a difference?" Kai joked, nervously chuckling._

 _"Jay, let go of him, the poor guy's terrified." Lloyd came to his rescue at last, giving the Blue Ninja a look that made him groan and release Kai's (now sweaty from nerves) hand. "You all right?"_

 _"Yeah, I'm just... not the best dancer."_

 _"Neither am I. Let's improve together." Lloyd grinned as the Fire Master gulped. "You're not out of the water yet, Kai. Just a small dance."_

 _"Ugh. Fine."_

* * *

 _"Karloff, Griffin stole the remote again!" Neuro whined as he wrestled with his older brother for the remote, trying to not grin as Griffin tickled him. "Stoooop!"_

 _"Come on, squirt, you've been watching that stupid cartoon for an hour! Mr Speedy needs his daily intake of_ Star Trek _!" The Master of Speed shoved the Master of the Mind off him before sitting up. "Oi, bro, how's that spaghetti going?"_

 _Karloff rolled his eyes and sighed. "It going fine, Griff." He walked over to the two bickering boys and snatched the remote out of Griffin's hands. "Karloff want to watch Mary Berry."_

 _"Ughhhhh."_

 _"Karloff, you're so boring sometimes!"_

 _"Boring but adult." Karloff grinned at his youngest brother. "Who feed Neuro?"_

 _"You feed me..."_

 _"Who got remote?"_

 _"Uh, Griffin did!" Griffin turned around too and glowered, lips puckered with frustration._

 _"Karloff got remote. Karloff want to watch Mary Berry. We watch Mary Berry."_

 _The woman's voice resonated through the flat. Though at first Neuro and Griffin groaned and moaned and pleaded with Zlatko to 'at least put_ Star Trek _on', they slowly found themselves watching the show._

 _"Karloff, why can't you make these things?"_

 _"Mary Berry been doing this stuff for years, before Karloff born, probably." He grinned. "You two just thought for future."_

 _"Is that fucking Mary Berry I hear on the TV?" Shadow grumbled as he heaved his body inside. "Can we put on something like... I dunno,_ Finding Nemo _or something?"_

 _"We watching Mary Berry. Shadow going to have to deal. Spaghetti nearly ready anyway."_

 _"And then we're going to watch a movie?"_

 _"_ Finding Nemo _!" Neuro called from the sofa. Shadow smiled, soft, subtle, brief, and leapt over the back of the sofa to grab his younger, honorary brothers in a loose headlock._

 _"Hell_ _yeah!_ Finding Nemo _!"_

 _"_ Finding Nemo _it is," Karloff laughed, ladling oodles of spaghetti into waiting dishes, a fond smile on his face._

 _He'd never let anything happen to his younger brothers._

* * *

Karloff squeezed the remote he'd kept ever since Griffin had died. No use for it anymore, the TV being rendered useless. It reminded him of happier days.

Maybe it was the worn out buttons, the lack of a cover for the batteries, the _Finding Nemo_ stickers that, through it all, remained on the back of the remote. He stroked the buttons with his thumb and pressed the remote to his face, holding back his tears.

Not now. The others needed him.

Toxikita wasn't crying anymore - quite the opposite, angry, tone calm but bubbling with rage, red, puffy eyes narrowed, eyebrows furrowed, lips puckered in anger.

He remembered that look. Neuro had made it often whenever Griffin burst into their bedroom and took his artwork to flaunt it off. However, there had always been a blush of embarrassment, a flustered stammer.

Lloyd was out in the city, scavenging for metal and, if they were lucky, food. The enemy had stripped them bare. Maybe that's why they got to live.

The speed Lloyd was leaving and returning was similar to that of Griffin, especially when spag bol was on the menu. The smirk, the glee, the determination, it all reminded Karloff of his first lost brother.

Ash was treating Ronin's injury (as they'd made their way to the HQ, one of his old wounds from his time with Wretch had reopened) and keeping to himself.

The way he showed no expression, sort of glowered at anyone who came over, the love he had in his eyes for Ronin... it reminded Karloff of his last brother, Shadow. The hair, the stony face, they shared it all...

Camille was standing amidst the chaos. Calm. Collected. She dumped Lloyd's metal into a pile, helped plot the battle Toxikita was planning and offered help to Ash.

Though she was far from being the oldest, though she too was scared, she took a position which no one else could. And that's when it struck Karloff who Camille reminded him of. Himself.

Karloff turned away - could he bear to take it anymore? He looked at the remote one more time before shoving it in his satchel. "Karloff got stuff back at Karloff's flat. We go, Karloff make weapons."

Camille smiled at him. "Sounds great. We don't have a lot to work with but we can make some stuff, hopefully. Swords and maybe daggers." She approached, treading over the bodies. "You okay?"

"... Just missing brothers..."

"It's understandable." She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "I'm proud of you. I certainly wouldn't have lived this long, you know."

Karloff's face played at a smile, though it was small and brief. He didn't respond to her words but squeezed her hand in response.

"Everything will be okay." It had to be.

* * *

 _Nya pulled her brother into a hug as he sat on the sofa, pulling at threads. "Kai, don't pick at the sofa, you're going to ruin it," she scolded as she jokingly smacked his hand._

 _"I'm bored, Nya. Why does a pizza take so long to get here?"_

 _The Water Master shrugged. "I pre-ordered it and everything." She smirked. "But it gives me time to talk to you. You really got some injuries out there in the field, Kai. I need to change the bandages, Kai."_

 _"I'll do it later, Nya. This is my day."_

 _"I'm not letting you get killed, Kai, and you're heading that way. Let me change the bandages."_

 _She did so anyway, removing the one around his hip and on his arms near his shoulders. She redressed the wounds, frowning. "Sometimes I hate how reckless and caring you are. It gets you into this mess." She pouted as she finally made eye contact with Kai, who was giving her a bored yet judging look. "I'm your sister, Kai. I'm supposed to care."_

 _"You're my little sister._ Little. _Got that?"_

 _"Please, I was practically your older sister for most of your life." Nya grinned and wrapped her arms around him. "I heard Jay tried to get you to dance."_

 _"While you were ordering the pizza and helping Zane prepare the food, yeah."_

 _"And that Lloyd actually got you to dance with him."_

 _"Over him, more like. Kept tripping over his toes."_

 _Nya raised her eyebrow. "Oh? Are you admitting a flaw? I thought I'd never see the day."_

 _"Oh shut up. Everyone has flaws. I just have... very few."_

 _"You have like at least five."_

 _"You have at least ten."_

 _"Hush, you! I'm trying to count your many, many weaknesses."_

 _Kai swatted her hand and teasingly scrunched up his face. "Funny, haha. This is my birthday, you're conditioned to sing my praises."_

 _"I don't have to do anything, I'm your sister. It's my job to make sure your ego doesn't get too inflated. It's a tricky job but I've had enough practice." She smirked at him and then frowned at the grimace on his face. "Look... I know it's been a while since you had one of these... officially, anyway. I know parties really aren't your thing but you need to relax. It's your day. Have fun."_

 _Kai smiled, but it was slight and short and he didn't make eye contact. "Which Elemental Masters are dealing with the bad guy?"_

 _"Toxikita, Camille, Shadow, Ash, and Skylor. Why?"_

 _"I thought Griffin and Neuro were helping too."_

 _"We went to get their help but Karloff and Shadow told me they'd disappeared one da-"_

 _The door slammed upon and an unruly Ash burst in through the door, eyes wild and wide._

 _"Ash?!"_

 _"Griffin and Neuro have turned traitor! They're on the enemy's side now!"_

 _"What?!" Kai stood up almost immediately, Nya grabbing his wrist and glaring._

 _"We need your help!"_

 _"But it's Ka-" Jay began to call from the kitchen._

 _"There's no time!"_

 _Nya glanced at Kai, a sad look in her eye._

 _"We can finish it when we get back... it won't take too long..."_

 _The Water Master sighed, standing up too. "No..."_

 _Ash bit the inside of his cheeks. "Hurry. We need your help."_

* * *

"How long does making these weapons take?!" They'd been there for a few days. Toxikita and Camille were on the sofa together, Camille fast asleep and snoring into the cloth of the sofa. Toxikita was pressed up against her, having just woken up and already complaining. "We need to fight him - and soon!"

"Hush, Karloff still making sword. Karloff need to focus."

"Ughhhhhhhhh." And with that, she slumped back against Camille and went back to sleep.

Ronin was looking and feeling better now. He and Ash were making food ('making' was generous, it was really little more than them getting the food Zlatko had made beforehand and microwaving it) together. They were 'cooking' a pizza now, pepperoni. It'd been one of Shadow's favourites, even though he didn't like pizza much.

Lloyd came back, carrying more weapons. "I raided some people's houses! Looks like they left some weapons and food behind!" He dumped the weapons - three swords, around ten daggers and five guns - on the floor and put the food - mostly tins of baked beans or something similar and fruits and vegetables - on the coffee table.

Karloff grinned. "That great! Girls are asleep, Ash and Ronin making pizza."

"Damn it, Karloff, now we have to share!"

Karloff chuckled to himself. He'd missed a loud house, a house full of bickering and joy and laughter. It was the thing the sound of metal and forging could never replace. His smiling lips trembled for a moment and he blinked away tears.

The rest of the day was uneventful, Lloyd deciding to sleep on the armchair nearby the sofa and Ash and Ronin falling asleep together in the kitchen, Ash leaning on Ronin and Ronin leaning on one of the cupboards. Turned out Lloyd had practically drained the city of its metal and weapons and food and had given up a few hours prior.

The girls, still sleeping on the sofa, had woken up for food, to check on progress, to make sure no one was injured but that was pretty tiring, it seemed.

"You should really get some shut eye, Karloff." The voice, in the dead of night, startled him. So much, in fact, that Karloff grabbed a dagger from the nearby pile of weapons and wielded it as he looked around, panicky. One could blame it on instincts.

Ronin was still leaning against the cupboard but his hair was carding Ash's hair and smiling softly. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

Karloff relaxed his stance, putting the dagger on the counter at which he was forging weapons. His shoulders slumped and his mouth curved into a frown. "It fine, Ronin. It just late."

"And you're tired. You need some sleep." He smiled. "We sort of took up everywhere, huh?"

"Yeah. That not matter. Karloff got mattress to sleep on." He dragged out a mattress from the part next to the kitchen and threw it on the floor. "Ta da!" Karloff grinned and waved his hands in a 'jazz hands' style.

Ronin chuckled. "So... when do you think the weapons will be done?"

"Tomorrow, next day. Soon." Karloff lay down on the mattress. "It... unbelievable. We really all that left..."

"I thought Wretch would have killed me by now or I'd have killed myself. You heard what Lloyd did, right?"

"Hm?"

"Kept a guy in debt, made him get a job with Wretch as a... you know... I was there for a while before I got saved. Lloyd started offering to kill Wretch for him, but he'd still be trapped in debt. In the end, the guy threw himself off the roof and Lloyd burnt the building down, killing Wretch... and all of the employees." Ronin squirmed a little, though it was hard under the weight of Ash.

"Lloyd tell you this?"

"Mm hm. Boasted about it too."

Karloff sighed. "Ronin should just sleep..." He offered a small smile, which was returned. "Karloff sleep too."

"Night."

"Night."

As he lay on his back, Karloff realised how much he'd missed this.

* * *

 _Let me tell you a secret about the Tyrant._

 _He can't wait to die._

* * *

A man was currently standing in their way. He had a long white beard and not a lot of hair. He had a staff which was horizontal and blocking their way.

"I will not let you fight him. You will die."

"... Uncle Wu?

Wu gave a single, solemn nod.

"We need to end it. Once and for all." Toxikita stepped forward but she was immediately swatted back by the man.

"What's the point? We're all that's left."

"Everyone else died for one thing - to overthrow this tyrant. Even if it'll mean nothing, we're going to defeat him." She glowered.

Wu glared back at her before pulling back his staff and sighing. "Fine. But I'm going too. The Tyrant was a student of mine."

"You think seeing you might get him to stop?"

"No."

* * *

As soon as they went inside, the minions and robots and cyborgs turned and began to shoot. All of them were quick to dodge and they kept running as the bullets fired.

"As long as we outrun them long enough, they should run out of ammo! Then they'll be forced to reload or get out their swords!" Lloyd yelled over the chaos as he ran with his uncle, Ash and Ronin. "Don't fire yet!"

Toxikita glared at Lloyd, biting back a rude remark of, "Who made you boss?" Camille's sideways glance may have stopped her as well. She just focused on running with Karloff and Camille. "When do we fight them?!"

"When we can!"

How long had passed? It didn't matter - Toxikita was tired. Tired of running, tired of waiting... "Fuck this!" And she jumped up onto the wall and, pushing herself off with her knees, leapt forward, sword slicing through the enemies. Her free hand fired her pistol and she soared through the minions, the robots and the cyborgs.

It was only when one of the robots managed to hit her with the side of their gun that she was stopped. She slammed into it with her stomach, yelling in pain. The robot smacked her aside and she went flying into the wall, far away from her friends.

"Tox! No!" Camille began to run toward her friend, shooting at the Tyrant's guards with her gun. "Tox, get up!"

Toxikita, spitting out blood, slowly got to her feet, knees threatening to give in at any point. It was only when she saw a huge tear in her shirt with blood seeping out of a cut across her chest that she got worried. "No... not yet... I need..." Her knees nearly buckled on her and she leant on the wall. A robot with a bloody gun - her blood - aimed at her. She wrapped her arm, the one that held her sword (she dropped it now), around her chest, covering the wound.

"TOX! I'M COMING!"

She lifted her shaky arm, the one holding her pistol. Her vision blurred. She aimed at the robot and fired.

Nothing.

Her pistol was empty. It slipped out of her hand and she finally let herself slip to the floor.

"TOX!"

The sound of her dear friend firing bullets echoed through her brain, loud and deafening, and she flinched. Blood pooled around her, soaking her sleeves, shirt and trousers. The taste of metal lingered in her mouth no matter how much she spat.

"Tox...?"

Her dear friend, Camille, was here. Her arms wrapped around Toxikita and held her tight.

"The others are fighting... Please... you have to stay alive... This was what you wanted. This is your purpose. You wanted to defeat the Tyrant. You can't die before your purpose."

Toxikita grinned a little bit at Camille. "Cam... I also... said..." She paused to cough. "That sometimes a death can... can... get someone to... to get to their purpose... That... they have to die... that's their purpose."

Camille tightened her hold. "No. That's _not_ your purpose. Your purpose is to defeat the Tyrant with me. You said it yourself."

Toxikita laughed. Her hand pressed against the back of Camille's, using what little strength it had left, and Camille gripped it tightly. "I'm not always right, Cam... And this time, I was wrong..."

"No. No! I refuse to believe it!" The shapeshifter's tears landed on Toxikita's cheek. "NO!"

"I'm so sorry... Cam..." The Poison Master paused, long enough for Camille to think she was gone. "Come closer. I need to tell you something."

Camille brought Toxikita up to her face so she could tell her whatever she needed to know.

Toxikita closed the gap, brushing her lips on Camille's for a few seconds. The taste of metal was shared between them, but Camille returned the brief kiss.

Toxikita fell limp in Camille's arms.

"No... Tox..." Camille's voice was soft and broken by tears.

"Come on, Camille." The Master of Form turned her head, almost reluctantly, at Ash's prompt.

The only ones left standing were her friends. All the guards, human or robot, had been cut down and killed.

She brought her hand to her lips and rubbed off the blood Toxikita had left on them. She stared at it for a second and then looked down at her dear friend. A smile was on her face, her eyes closed. She looked peaceful.

"There was nothing we could have done."

"I know, Ash." Her voice was still choked by tears. "I know."

"C'mon on." He held out his hand, smiling. Camille took it. "I promise no one else will die."

"You can't possibly promise that."

"Well, you can watch me try." He pulled her up and hugged her. "You're like an older sister to me, Cam."

That's what got her breaking down. She wrapped her arms around the Smoke Master and sobbed into his shoulder.

* * *

They'd moved into the next room. There weren't so many guards in this room - in fact, there were none at all. Camille had calmed down, the only evidence of her breakdown being her red eyes and the memory. Karloff was standing by her.

The room was quite large with three doors, excluding the one they'd broken into - one was practically opposite them, one was on the wall right of them and the third was on the left wall.

"We should check them, one at time, together. No splitting up." Karloff took charge, wrapping an arm around Camille.

"We've all seen the movies," Lloyd said. Whether it was a joke or not was uncertain.

Ronin began to walk to the room on the left, pulling Ash by his hand after him. "I think this one first."

"I was thinking about going through the one opposite us but... that'll do."

Ash kicked the door down after Ronin stepped back. "HIIIII...YA!"

It was a bathroom. Small, measly, quite cute actually. There were your typical bathroom supplies, which didn't seem right for the situation.

"Oh, nice, mints!" Camille grabbed the mints - Polo's - and shoved one in her mouth.

"Mints?" Ash asked, raising an eyebrow. "Why are there mints in a bathroom?"

"Who cares? I've been missing these!" Camille offered her childhood friend one of the Polo's, which he took. Soon, everyone who wanted one had one and the mints found a new home in Karloff's pocket.

There was nothing interesting other than the mints - it was just a standard bathroom. "How about the room right ahead of us?" Lloyd pointed to the door on the opposite wall. It was something you'd expect him to be eager about, for him to demand and almost yell that they do, but it appears that arson takes a lot out of you. He didn't even leave time to agree, striding off on his own.

"Lloyd going to get himself killed," Karloff murmured, Wu nodding in agreement beside him, before jogging after him.

Behind the door was a long hallway, similar to the room they'd just come out of. There were curtains drawn over all the windows, effectively covering the walls. The floor was marble and made a thudding sound with every step they took. There was another door just opposite them, and it was the only way out of the room.

"Something feels... off..." Ronin mumbled, huddled up against Ash, who had his arm wrapped around him. "I don't know what it is..."

There was a shuffle and one of the curtains moved.

"... Shit," said a voice from behind the curtain.

"RUN!" Karloff yelled, all of them breaking into a sprint toward the next door. The robots, who had seemed to be standing guard from behind the curtain for whatever reason, began to fire at them.

"Ronin and I can hold them back - Karloff, Wu, get Camille and Lloyd into the next room. We'll follow!" Ash pushed the four ahead a little, holding his boyfriend's hand. "We got this."

Ronin grinned nervously and squeezed his boyfriend's hand. "Yeah."

The two of them took out their swords and pecked each other on the lips before nodding. They then split from each other and started to run at the robots, slicing them in half with their swords.

Karloff pulled the other three behind him as he sprinted toward the door. Lloyd, who had clambered on top of his shoulder, fired at any robots that were trying to stop them, turning around and all. The door was so close, Karloff pushing Wu and Camille in and then letting Lloyd get off his shoulder and going into the room himself.

He turned around just in time to see Ronin, firing his pistols, getting a sword through his chest.

"RONIN!" Ash screamed. Everything was a bit of blur, really.

Screaming.

Bullets.

Clashing.

Running.

Blood.

He ran through the crowd of robots, screaming incoherently with rage, firing his pistol and slicing through the enemies. He got a few bullets in him, not enough to cause real damage, just for him to bleed.

He soon stood above Ronin's impaled body. There was still life in his lover, his eyes flickering around, his laboured breaths becoming slower.

"Ronin... N...no..."

"A... Ash... be...behind... you..."

The next thing the Smoke Master knew, there was a bloody sword through his chest.

"... Huh." He fell beside Ronin, gazing into the dying eyes.

And they died, staring into each other's eyes.

Karloff shut the door.

* * *

 _Th_ _e Tyrant knows they're there._

 _He's just wondering how many people will be alive to face him._

* * *

Toxikita. Ronin. Ash.

"We've lost them... Who else are we going to lose?" Camille leant again Karloff. "Let's place bets," she joked. "I bet... I'll die next. Either me or Lloyd."

"No one dying next." Karloff glared at her, though it was soft and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "We gonna live, you see." He tightened his hold briefly, grinning widely. "You see!" He grabbed Lloyd into a hug, who looked very uncomfortable and was even glaring at Karloff, after he stopped rolling his eyes.

When Lloyd finally escaped the deadly hug, he brushed himself off, huffing, and said, "Right. Now, are we going to stand stupid in this room or are we going to get out of here before they-" He gestured to the door they'd come through (now barricaded with a lot of furniture to keep out the robots) "-find a way in and kill us?"

Wu raised an eyebrow and sipped something from a flask - since it looked like your typical alcohol flask, Lloyd assumed it was that. "Want some?" He offered it to his nephew who responded by snatching it out of his hand and taking a swig of it.

It wasn't alcohol. It was...

"Fucking TEA?!" He threw it down onto the floor, the offending drink dribbling out and onto the floor. "Why did I expect anything else?" He groaned, rubbing his temples with his eyes closed. When they opened, he glared at Wu. "You're just as crazy as he is. You're just as crazy as you were when I left you and your stupid ninja team to rot." He chuckled. "Could hardly call it a team. One of them had run away, probably to kill himself, one of them was going crazy and another person had died."

Wu glared and said nothing. His eyes often looked at the tea trickling down the cold marble floor.

"It was only a matter of time, Uncle, until we all left." Lloyd grinned wickedly. "And you'd be all alone again." He would have continued, but Wu suddenly aimed a gun at his nephew's head. Lloyd just grinned more. "What you going to do, _Uncle_? Kill me? The only living person in your family? Your brother is dead again. Your students are dead. The love of your life, my MOTHER, is dead. Everyone else, well, they're dead, or soon to be."

The gun quivered in Wu's hand but he looked stoic - not even glaring.

"And even if you didn't care, you still wouldn't. You don't kill and neither did Cole. You just hurt and hurt and hurt but you never kill. Maybe if you did kill, you'd feel better. Killing really takes your breath away. It feels good and gets the pain out. You know what I mean? The pain of having once had everything... and then having nothing but the clothes on your back, your guns and swords and your mother. That's why people kill. To take out their stress... and to save others from this life."

"Lloyd, quit it. You're right, we need to get out of here fast." Camille stepped in between the relatives, hand on Wu's gun. "Come on. We need to get out of here."

The barricade shifted slightly behind them. Karloff, who had been topping it up slightly, backed away. "Sooner the better," he muttered, eyeing it uneasily.

Camille nodded once before pushing Lloyd back to Karloff and turning to face the blond. "Quit making trouble. You're going to get yourself or others killed. Stop being an ass."

"What you expect from arsonist?" Karloff snorted. "What you expect from murderer?"

"You take that back, you big metal freak! Who told you about that?!"

"Ronin told me about it. About Morro."

Lloyd aimed one of his guns at Karloff. "SHUT UP, YOU METAL FREAK! SHUT THE FUCK UP!" Gun quivering in his hand, he had it facing Karloff's head. "Or I'll shoot you. I'll shoot your fucking brains out. You got that?"

The next few seconds were a blur. Camille slapped Lloyd and grabbed his gun and yelled something at him. Whether Lloyd was alarmed or shocked or angry, it didn't matter.

He shot her in the throat anyway.

Karloff caught her as she fell. Choking out blood, she managed to giggle and whisper, "I told you I'd die next." He ignored her words, holding her close to his chest and hugging her as she died.

Bang.

Lloyd gave her a bullet to the head, to end her suffering. She slumped against the Metal Master.

"Lloyd... killed Camille..." Karloff held her close for a few more minutes before finally allowing her to drop to the marble floor with a bloodcurdling thud. "LLOYD KILLED CAMILLE!" He practically leapt up and at the Green Ninja, grabbing his throat and throttling him.

"Oh? Hm? Well, who's soaked in her blood, huh?"

"LLOYD SHUT UP!" He continued to squeeze his throat tightly. No one stopped him. Lloyd seemed to love it and Wu just sipped at another flask of tea. He had to remind himself that he was necessary to defeat the Tyrant to get himself to stop.

His vision blurred with tears and he cried over Lloyd. For his brothers. His friends. Everyone.

He felt Lloyd's finger rubbing his forehead to soothe him. He felt him press his finger down and looked up. It wasn't a finger. It was the barrel of a gun.

"So sorry about this. But I don't need mental breakdowns happening."

Bang.

* * *

The last room. The Tyrant's hall. Where He would be. The last two stood in front of the door, slain robots on the ground behind and around them.

Lloyd grinned and pulled a box of matches out of his pocket and ignited it to show off. "Flamethrowers are too heavy and big for me to carry. Plus, if you use them right, gasoline and a lighter or a match can go a long way." He turned to his uncle. "Are you ready to fight Him? To kill Him?"

Wu sipped his tea, not pleased with his nephew. "No. We're not going to kill Him. I want to try to talk to Him."

"I fucking told you, Uncle, you're batshit insane. Just as bad as He is," he grunted. "Whatever. I just want the bastard dead."

"Not yet, Lloyd."

The Green Ninja glared. "You can't stop me from barging in there and beating His ass!" He gestured to the massacre of robots behind them. "They couldn't!"

Wu calmly stared, sipping his tea. "No, perhaps I can't." He looked back at the door and put his flask away. "All right. Try to kill Him."

Lloyd could have ran into the room with excitement as he went to grab his lighter and gasoline and matches, patting his pockets eagerly.

They were gone.

Something drenched him and he felt a shiver run down his spine. He slowly turned to face his uncle, who was holding a flickering match. He looked stoic. Uncaring. Emotionless.

"But I'll have to stop you."

The shiver all but grew as Wu finally, finally, _finally_ gave a small smile.

"So sorry about this. But I don't need a family."

* * *

 _He didn't need a family either._

 _Who needs family when you have a world?_

* * *

"Sensei." The tone of Jay's voice should have been mocking. It wasn't. Completely serious, he stared down the old man. "Come to visit?"

Wu wasn't smiling; he just blankly stared, head tilted ever so slightly. He dropped a box of matches, a lighter and an empty tub of gasoline from his hands. "You are the only thing that stands in my way."

"The same goes to you."

"We killed all of your robots. You must have... ten left." Wu should have sneered. He didn't.

"Good. Saves me the task." Jay didn't smile. Neither of them were.

There was a period of silence. Wu spent it tossing matches and lighters and tubs of gasoline on the floor. Jay spent it watching.

Finally, finally, _finally_ , one of them smiled. "I suppose you're going to kill me."

"Yes. Yes I am."

There was another pause... and then Jay burst into fits of laughter. "You _have_ to be joking, Sensei!" He cackled and wheezed and laughed. "You really think that you can kill me?! You won't kill anyone!"

"I beg to differ. Go outside. You'll find the burnt corpse of my nephew." He aimed a gun at Jay. His eyes should have been narrowed. They weren't.

"Awwwww. You killed for me!" Jay pressed his hands to his cheek in mock adoration, pouting his lips a little. "That's so nice of you, Sensei."

Wu rolled his eyes and pulled out a pistol.

"Ooh, a pistol, I'm so scare-"

Bang.

Jay covered his stomach with his hand, watching with both bemusement and disgust as blood trickled through his fingers. "Hm... it won't kill me, you know."

"I was aiming for that." He lifted his hand a little to aim at Jay's head.

He grinned, giving the sensei a thumbs up with his free hand. "I like you more now, you know."

The gun trembled in Wu's hand.

"No. You can't do it, can you? You killed one guy and now your hands are bloody." Jay tapped his foot, almost impatient. "You must be so ashamed. To kill your nephew. I killed your brother. I killed your sister-in-law. I killed nearly all of your students." He stretched out his hands to Wu, as if blood should have been oozing off them. His pupils contracted as his eyes widened and he grinned. He looked crazy but also as if he was despairing, in pain. **_"I have more blood on my hands_** **_than_** ** _you!"_**

The gun slipped from the sensei's hand and he fell into a kneel. He hung his head and stared down at the ground, defeated.

All the bloodshed in the world could never give either of them what they wanted.

"Are you going to do it yourself or do I have to kill you as well today?" The voice should have been cold and uncaring. It wasn't. It was soft, pained, warm. Jay didn't want to kill his sensei.

He hadn't wanted to kill Kai either.

He just wished Nya hadn't died.

Tears fell down Wu and Jay's cheeks, but the Tyrant laughed slightly.

"I want... to save you," Wu whispered as he saw the feet approach him to pick up his gun. "I was deluded enough to think I could fix you..."

"I'm beyond fixing. I've been beyond fixing since the day Nya died." Jay's voice was a mumble as he spoke. The gun felt heavy in his head. Was it the weight of the pistol...?

Or the weight of his sins?

"But that's okay. It doesn't mean anything now." He patted his palm with the pistol a couple times, pacing, his tangle of limbs stumbling. "Are you sure you want me to do it?"

"Yes." Wu hadn't looked up at all, head bowed as if in prayer, hands on his knees, ankles tucked under him. His breaths were shallow and quick-paced. "Just get it ove-"

Bang.

Jay watched, almost emotionless, as the second to last survivor slumped onto his side and died, head bleeding out. His eyes, still soaked with tears, stared wide, mouth ajar.

"I'm all that's left, huh?" He blinked back tears, biting his lip and patting his palm with the pistol. "Didn't think it'd end like this." He sighed. "Better make sure I'm the only one left."

It took an hour for him to find all of his guards and robots and cyborgs. It took him less time to kill them all. He soon stood on a mountain of corpses.

Wu's dead, teary eyes burnt into his own.

"Thank you, Sensei." He put the gun to his temples, finger on the trigger.

He should have been trembling, crying. He wasn't.

"I've always wanted to die."

Bang.

* * *

 **A/N: And that, my friends, is the end of _When the Darkness Comes_!**

 **It's been a fun ride. That eight month hiatus I accidentally took really paid off - my writing is much better and it feels more flow-y. But I keep looking back on myself and cringing.**

 **I'll be posting the entire fanfiction on Archive of Our Own - Author Note free - and then I'll begin to work on the original story version. It'll be much better - I'll have a good idea of what needs to happen in each chapter and such and I'll have this to lean back on. If you want to talk to me, you can find me on Tumblr, Archive of Our Own and Twitter - all under IHaveNoSoul13 (except for Tumblr, which is ihavenosoul12)! If you want to find me anywhere, just look for that username and it should be me. My Discord number is #** **3871 and I, of course, have the same username.**

 **Now, a little note. I have lost interest in Ninjago so this will probably be my last fanfiction for it. I may watch episodes and maybe the upcoming movie but I don't think I'll be in the fandom. I'll treasure what I've learnt from my time here and you're free to keep in contact. I'll still reblog stuff about it sometimes. I'm just not too into it and not a part of the fandom.**

 **And I'll be moving from Fanfiction as a website entirely too. I want to invest in original stories - like The Blood Series - and this isn't the place for that. I will probably be available to message and I may read a couple fanfictions from time to time but don't expect much from me.**

 **Thank you for joining me on this journey - you started with me as Bronya, a cis, straight twelve year old girl, and you have now ended with me as Soul/Tristan/Viktor, a non-binary, aroace fourteen year old.**

 **I'm sorry for leaving you guys all of a sudden but I have to continue my writing career somewhere, even if it's not here. I hope you can understand. Perhaps, one day, you'll be writing and reading fanfiction for my published works, haha.**

 **I hope you have good lives and I hope you can understand this.**

 **It's been fun to be around.**

 **See ya!**

 **~Soul/Tristan/Viktor.**

 _ **Fini.**_


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